Never too late to make a splash in free agency, am I right? The Los Angeles Lakers snagged one of the best free agents left on the market in Christian Wood. The former Houston Rockets center now joins a frontcourt that saw a lot of success towards the end of the 2022-23 season.
But why did the Lakers go and sign Christian Wood? As it turns out, this was the bidding of their own star center. Anthony Davis’ disdain of playing the center spot is well-documented. He excelled in the position last year, but clearly he’s unhappy playing there. According to Dave McMenamin’s sources, Davis asked the Lakers to find a center for them.
“Wood tweeted that it had “always been my dream” to play for the Lakers. It turns out his dream coincides with the desires of L.A.’s most important player: Anthony Davis. Sources told ESPN that Davis made it clear to the (Lakers) organization he wanted to have more support at center so he wouldn’t have to play so much 5 during the regular season.”
Davis has never been a fan of playing center in the NBA. One of the reasons is because playing center is physically demanding in ways that a power forward can’t imagine. Davis is an elite defensive player, but the Lakers star does not like banging down low against burly, physical centers that like to post up.
While Wood plays center, he doesn’t exactly fit the role that Davis wants to pass on. The new Lakers forward is basically a glass cannon: he’s good on offense, sometimes even great. However, he struggles severely on defense, partly due to height and partly due to his motor. Despite that, there’s plenty of reasons for this partnership to succeed. Can the Lakers give Wood the opportunity to be the best he can be?
Source link : https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-the-anthony-davis-reason-la-signed-christian-wood
Author : Gerard Angelo Samillano
Publish date : 2023-09-07 17:15:15
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