Painful memories ran through Christian Wood’s mind when he signed a $ 41 million three-year contract with the Houston Rockets offices in November.
Not set up.
Rejected by several NBA teams.
Cut by a team in China before they even play in a match.
Numerous innings in the G-League.
Through it all, Wood believed in himself and was ultimately rewarded for it this off-season.
“The long-term contract meant a lot to me,” Wood, 25, told The Undefeated in a telephone interview on Sunday. ‘It showed me how hard I worked and how far I went from a minimum and non-guaranteed contract to a number of times that I could not even say you had to sign three years, $ 41 million. It’s amazing.
“Not to be arrogant, but I actually think I’m worth more than that.”
The 6-foot-10 center averages 23.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game on a Rockets series that also includes stars James Harden and John Wall. At the beginning of the year he was a candidate for the best player of the year. Wood was a bright spot for a Houston team that handled the fallout from Harden’s recent trade request.
The Rockets’ first-year coach, Stephen Silas, who was an assistant coach at the Charlotte Hornets when Wood was there during the 2016-17 season, said he would be an ‘A’ to ‘C-Wood’ so far. give.
‘If he succeeds and people get a chance to see what he can do. And now that the [center] position changed a bit, it helped him, ‘Silas said.
“In Charlotte he was a young child. But now he’s grown up and he’s fine. He’s really good. ‘
FROM DESIGN TO JOURNEYMAN
Wood enters the 2015 NBA draft after his second year at UNLV, in which he averaged 15.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. ESPN.com selected him as a second-round pick, but Wood believed he could be selected late in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers or Memphis Grizzlies.
On draft night, he gathered with family and friends for a draft party in a hotel suite in Las Vegas. But not only did the Lakers and Grizzlies pass him by, so did the other 28 teams. Wood described it as one of the “worst nights” of his life and later heard that his work ethic was being questioned by NBA teams. When he was just 19, Wood also began to question himself.
“It was a dark moment where I thought, ‘When am I going to have an NBA job? Will I be able to take care of my family? “It was difficult,” Wood said.
‘But I went through it. My faith, my mentality after that was just, “Destroy everyone and show the world what you can be.” ”
Wood would actually start his professional career with the Rockets and play in their summer league team in 2015. But Houston did not offer him a contract, and so he cost a minimum deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Wood played sparingly in 17 games during the 2015-16 season and spent most of his time with the G League Delaware 87ers, averaging 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds.
The following season he signed with Charlotte, but it was more the same. He played sparingly in 13 games with the Hornets, although he averaged 19.6 points and 10.1 rebounds for their G-League team, the Greensboro Swarm. Silas sees Wood’s potential, but adds that much growth was still needed at the time.
“I saw a very talented player do a lot of different things,” Silas said. “But he was young and contradictory.”
After playing for the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns summer league teams in 2017, Wood received no NBA offers, so he signed with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association. But about a month after Wood’s arrival, the Sturgeons added another former NBA player, Mike Harris, and eventually relinquished Wood before the season began.
Wood is considered a wake-up call to be cut in China.
“That one was probably the biggest test point for me in my life,” Wood said. ‘I think I have NBA talent and I can play in the NBA [Fujian] cut me. They say I’m not good enough. They do not think I’m ready to play in the CBA. It was quite crazy for me and then the light turned on.
‘I had no other options after that. I was cut out of a team before, and then I was cut out of China. So now I’m here looking for an NBA job. So I have to do everything in my power to get on the team, which means being a G Leaguer. ”
Wood averaged 23.3 points and 10.4 rebounds in the G-League with the 87ers during the 2017-18 season, but never played a game for the Sixers. During the 2018-19 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, he dominated with the G League Wisconsin Herd, averaging 29.3 points and 14.1 rebounds. But Wood would play in just 13 games for the Bucks, and he eventually gave up and left him wondering to this day what would have been if he had teamed up dual MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
‘I just wondered why I could not get on the floor and what I had to do to get on the floor to play with this team. I understand that at the time (the Bucks) was the No. 1 team in the league. But I have compiled such large numbers, “said Wood.
The New Orleans Pelicans claimed Wood’s rights on March 20, 2019, and there Wood said that then-Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry helped change the trajectory of his career by giving him a chance to play. Wood would make the most of his time in New Orleans by scoring 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in eight games. The then new general manager of Pelicans, David Griffin, would resign from Wood on July 15, 2019 to sign free agent guard JJ Redick, but although he was cut for the fourth time, he was confident he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
“Most guys would fold or say it’s not for me, maybe the second or third time was rejected by a team,” Wood said. ‘And maybe even quit after being cut out of an overseas team. But after that, what’s really next? I would just say, ‘Just be so resilient and never give up on you. You have come this far. You bet on yourself. Just keep betting on yourself. ‘”
Christian Wood of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during a game against the Denver Nuggets on December 28, 2020 at Ball Arena.
Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images
breakthrough
The former assistant general manager of the Detroit Pistons, Malik Rose, saw Wood’s talent, but said that there are many small things that continued to harm Wood’s reputation off the court after the 2018-19 season. Rose mentions immaturity, punctuality and focus issues as the most important things.
“You hear all these things,” Rose, now vice president of basketball operations at the NBA, told The Undefeated. “It was never something malicious. Knucklehead good. Let practice. Leave for a bus. Cannot focus on a play. Missing a workout. I tend to give younger players, especially millennials, more ropes with it. I remember when I was 21, 22, I also did not make the best decisions. ”
Rose and the Pistons claimed Wood on July 17, 2019. They were the only NBA team to make a waiver of Wood, a source said. Wood finally beat veteran guard Joe Johnson, who was dealing with injury problems, for the final spot on the 2019-2020 Pistons series.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey quickly fell in love with Wood’s game on both sides of the floor, urging him to pick up the team. Part of Wood’s growth came from Casey’s hard love when he made mistakes or fell into games and exercises.
“I know he’s talented. “I’m trying to teach him to be a good player,” Casey told reporters in Detroit last season. ‘I went to the wall to make sure he’s here. It’s about doing the right thing. To carry himself in the right way. If he had done that, he probably would not have been with five different teams, because he is a very talented young man. It will bear fruit for him. ‘
Wood averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game in 62 games with the Pistons during the 2019-20 season. He also shot 56.7% from the field and nearly 40% from the three-point range. After the All Star break, Wood took it to another level, averaging 24.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game before the pandemic ended the Pistons season on March 11th.
Wood acknowledges Casey for his breakthrough season.
“He always trusted me. I always played behind Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin at the time. But [Casey] would say: ‘This child is talented. We just had to give him a chance in the system and get him right. “And that’s what he did,” Wood said.
Wood’s strong play has made him an intriguing free agent this past season. The Pistons were interested in signing Wood, but an NBA source said they were not interested in paying more than $ 8 million annually. So on November 20, Wood agreed to a sign-and-trade agreement with the Rockets.
The deal would bring him $ 13 million in his first season after earning a combined $ 4.3 million during his previous NBA stop. It would reunite him with Silas. And that gave him the chance to play with two All-Star guards.
“I like playing with James and John,” Wood said. “We have a good relationship. James is one of the best pick-and-roll guards in the league. And I think I’m one of the best pick-and-roll sizes in the league. You put the two of us together, it’s a tough duel to stop, especially in late-game situations. And then to have John back, and if he can sustain the game he’s currently playing with, then we’re a tough team to beat in the West. “
It took a while, but Wood finally has security in the NBA. However, do not expect him to be satisfied. He now has the pressure to be a standout in the NBA rather than just holding a position.
“He has a lot to prove,” Silas said. “We have a lot to prove as a team. But he started well. ”
Wood has individual goals to become an All-Star this season, win the award for the NBA Most Improved Player in 2020 and earn another contract when he is just 27 years old. More than anything, he still has a chip on his shoulder.
“I’m humble from the start,” Wood said. “It’s a new beginning. And I’m very appreciative. ”