Houston Rockets: Can Christian Wood change James Harden’s mind?

The Houston Rockets struck gold when they signed Christian Wood in the offseason. Now that he’s shown his skills, might James Harden opt to stick around?

The Houston Rockets found themselves a prize in free agency when they signed Christian Wood to a three-year, $41 million contract. He ended up in a calamitous situation with both All-Star guards demanding trades, and Russell Westbrook’s request has already been accommodated. With that situation resolved, James Harden is still looking to get shipped out of town.

Harden has demanded that the Rockets contend for a championship every season or he would force his way out of town, and rightly, he doesn’t think this roster has a chance at a title. However, he’s no fool and is a player who expects that his own play can elevate any team he’s on, with just a little help.

It’s possible Christian Wood is that help, or at least he may give Harden pause in his urgency to get out of town.

Surely it’s unfair to suggest that James Harden didn’t know anything about Wood before the last couple of days of training camp after he reported following his Las Vegas adventures over the past while, but we can assume that knowing just what Wood could do alongside him was a mystery until very recently.

The NBA got a look at what they look like together in the Rockets’ final preseason game on Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Harden was his usual efficient self, scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, adding nine assists and seven rebounds, but Wood was outstanding in his own first game of the preseason.

Christian Wood played just 24 minutes and scored 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor, and he added 10 rebounds. A season after the Rockets went to micro-ball in order to satisfy the requirements of a team that featured Russell Westbrook, it’s a whole new era in Houston. The Rockets are still a smaller than average team, but Wood provides some size and strength that will take much of the rebounding load off of the starting unit’s shoulders, and that can have residual benefits for James Harden as well.

If last season with the Detroit Pistons is any indication, Wood is going to make a dynamic pick-and-roll and spot-up partner for Harden, unlike any he’s played with in some time.

Christian Wood probably isn’t going to be the missing piece that makes the Houston Rockets title contenders once again, but he’s going to open up some scoring avenues for Harden that simply haven’t been there in the past. If he can do that, maybe James Harden will rethink his demands to get out of town, and with a full season of Wood, Harden and John Wall together, the Rockets might yet be able to surprise some people.

And for Christian Wood himself, getting to spread his wings alongside a dynamic offensive creator like Harden could be a revelation. Last season with the Pistons he was relegated to playing with a grim assortment of point guards like Tim Frazier and Bruce Brown, and he had slivers of time with Reggie Jackson and Derrick Rose.

Let’s see what he can do beside a real superstar instead this season.