What signing Christian Wood means for the Houston Rockets

After appearing to be headed towards a rebuild, the Rockets signed highly sought after free agent Christian Wood. What does this mean for Houston?

It appeared that things were falling apart for the Houston Rockets as both their stars, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, reportedly wanted out. A few days later, the Rockets traded away Robert Covington to the Portland Trail Blazers which was another sign the team was planning to blow things up.

But when free agency started, the Rockets made a big offseason acquisition, signing free agent Christian Wood, who was highly sought after by many NBA teams, to a three-year, $41 million deal.

Wood is a 25-year-old 6’10” big man who can play the power forward and/or center position. After a slow and rocky start to his career, Wood made a name for himself during the latter parts of the 2019-20 season in Detroit.

While Wood’s stats with the Detroit Pistons last season do not jump off the page, as the big man averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, his per 36 minutes stats, which were 22 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks, do him more justice since Wood saw a dramatic increase in minutes in the final portion of the season as he was moved into Detroit’s starting lineup after the Pistons traded Andre Drummond.

And Wood is just the player Houston needed. He provides the Rockets with size, something they desperately needed. But Wood is not a typical center who justs sits in the paint offensively, but is extremely versatile and can be used in an abundance of ways.

Christian Wood is a proven scorer for the Houston Rockets

Christian Wood has proven the ability to knock down the 3-point shot at a solid mark, as he shot 38.6 percent from deep last year. This is huge for a Rockets team that has attempted the most 3-pointers in the league every season since 2016. Wood’s ability to knock down the deep ball also allows Houston to continue to use its small-ball approach and space the floor offensively to create room for Harden and Westbrook to work.

Wood also has a special ability to create his own shot off the dribble. Despite being 6-foot 10, Wood has great handles and can effectively use his dribble to get to the rim.

He is also a perfect fit to play alongside Harden and Westbrook, two of the league’s best facilitators. Wood has excellent hands and has excelled at the pick in roll, as he made 80 percent of his shots off the pick and roll last season. This is perfect for a Rockets team that sets a ton of picks and also gives Harden and Westbrook, who love to throw the ball up towards the rim, an excellent target to throw a lob for a dunk.

While the Rockets still need a few more pieces to be legitimate title contenders, signing Wood is an excellent start for rookie general manager Rafael Stone and an excellent piece for new coach Stephen Silas to incorporate into the Houston Rockets lineup.