By Tim Cato and Kelly Iko
Jan 2, 2023
With the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets concluding their season series on Monday, The Athletic’s beat writers — Tim Cato of the Mavericks, Kelly Iko of the Rockets — got together to discuss Christian Wood after he swapped teams this summer and what they expect from the final matchup between the two sides this season.
Tim Cato: Kelly, my homie down I-45, I’m sure you’re surviving this Texas winter in the fliest overcoats this state has ever seen. The teams we cover are about to play for the fourth time this Monday, wrapping up the season series before we’ve even reached the halfway mark. I figured this would be a good time to revisit the trade they made this past summer, especially because Christian Wood became extension eligible in the past couple of weeks.
Before we do that, I have to ask about Boban Marjanović, who was included in that trade. What’s been his best moment in Houston thus far?
Kelly Iko: Catooooo my boy! I’ve often referred to Boban as the human white flag of NBA games, but it’s been an absolute pleasure watching him check in games and immediately call for post-entry passes while the crowd goes berserk.
Cato: He loves those post-ups! Heck, he just loves being a one-man offense. One nerdy stat I’ve always loved: If Marjanović qualified, his career usage rate would be top-100 in league history — higher than players like Kawhi Leonard, Isiah Thomas, even Monta Ellis.
Iko: On a more serious note, he’s brought a sense of calmness to this group. The Rockets needed a culture boost more than anything this past season, with how frustrating rebuilds can get, and he’s been able to supply that without trouble. His wisdom speaks volumes, his timely humor critical and his experience second to none. It’s impossible for someone like Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. or Alperen Sengun to see Boban and not have a better day because of it.
But to answer your question, his best moment so far has to be when he told me he would be a better Kroger cashier than an NBA big man. That was hilarious.
Cato: When we talked in June about the trade that sent Wood to Dallas, you told me this about him: “I don’t think Wood ever really adjusted mentally to not being the No. 1 guy in town. He was brought in to be a strong third option, remember?” That was when he arrived in Houston as a complementary piece behind James Harden and John Wall only for that team to quickly crumble.
You said his attitude missteps — there were several minor incidents in Houston — weren’t representative of his overall attitude. That’s been proven true in Dallas. Wood has been an engaged player on both ends. Other than a brief stretch where he didn’t want to talk at postgame news conferences, he’s said everything right to the media about his role and his teammates.
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Dallas has a decision to make about offering him an extension. I believe the main thing it has to determine is what Wood’s role would be on a hypothetical championship roster, and whether he would embrace it. What do you remember about Wood’s willingness to embrace being the third option behind the short-lived Harden team? Harden’s buy-in aside, did you think there was a chance that could have worked?
Iko: I think Wood thoroughly enjoyed playing third fiddle behind Harden and Wall because for the first time in his career, he was playing with future Hall of Fame guards. It only augmented his self-confidence and even if the feeling was quickly dashed, you can see how Wood thought playing with Harden would get him to postseason basketball.
“I’m very versatile,” Wood said in January. “I can help this team in pick-and-rolls with me and James and finding guys in the open corner like P.J. Tucker. Just being an X factor in the team.”
When you ask me if I think it would have worked long term, I have to quantify that. If you mean “worked” as in getting to the playoffs, the answer is probably not. That team had way too many defensive issues to try to cover up with offensive talent, as hot as they were. But it would have worked wonders for Wood on a personal level. And humility is a good thing.
Cato: Yeah, he’s been that and he’s learning how to play winning basketball. It’s interesting. You and I have covered Wood directly, but we also talk to executives and team employees throughout the league. It’s noticeable how many people, even ones on teams that Wood has never played for, don’t seem to have a good impression of him.
If Dallas offered him an extension, it would be the first franchise to make a long-term commitment to him in his seven-year career. I’m sure there’s something to that. On the other hand, this all does seem somewhat overblown, no? He’s a talented player who has embraced — and been embraced if Luka Dončić’s comments after his 51-point game against San Antonio are any indication — being on a winning team for the first time. What do you make of that?
Luka Doncic on relationship with Christian Wood: "He doesn't get mad at me when sometimes I yell at him, and that's what I appreciate. … Sometimes it's hard to be with me on the court probably. I just want to win. He appreciates that, he never gets mad. … It's working great." pic.twitter.com/uAOIy6vnJB
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) January 1, 2023
Iko: It’s complicated like you said. A lot of times, Wood’s ego got the best of him, especially on a young team trying to develop several players at the same time. Green was heralded as the guy in Houston from Day 1 — Wood wasn’t too fond of that. Stephen Silas wanted to run an equal opportunity, versatile scheme — Wood wasn’t too fond of that. He wanted a clear pecking order and believed that the departures of Harden and Wall vaulted him to the top by default.
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But situations change quickly, and people change too. Wood had to leave that mindset on I-45 after coming into Dallas, where Dončić is the end-all, be-all. Call me crazy, but I think the decision to bring Wood off the bench — and make it public before the season ever started — was to get that mental shift started early. Defensively, he still has some work to do, which I’m sure you’ll get into later, but on the other side of the ball, he’s as dynamic as big men come. An extension with the Mavericks makes sense for both parties.
Cato: That makes a lot of sense. I think we use the phrase “attitude issues” too broadly and widely within sports writing, and players can get stuck with that perception despite it meaning a lot of things. Your summation of the perception that has followed him tracks with my understanding of it. He has had moments of immaturity that helped that perception, but he’s not a jerk and he’s not inherently disliked by his teammates.
I’m a bit more pessimistic that an extension gets done. There are meaningful members of the Mavericks’ front office who are interested in the idea, but I don’t know if their ideas align with his and his agency. But I also understand the hesitancy. There isn’t much recent precedent for championship teams committing major money to a good-but-not-elite offensive big man who isn’t a defensive cornerstone.
Wood has been more impactful defensively in recent weeks, and of course, his offense has been great. Finding the right type of extension that makes sense for both parties might be harder than it seems. But whatever happens, Dallas must understand it can’t lose another player this talented for nothing.
What do you expect from the final matchup between the teams we cover? Dončić sat out the first game, but he scored 35 and 50 points, respectively, in the following two matchups. He’s coming off a 51-point explosion against San Antonio on Saturday. He’s in a groove, but it’s because the recent strategies he’s faced have shifted more toward single coverage that dares him to beat them in isolation.
Do you think Silas tosses some more aggressive doubles at Dončić this time around?
Iko: It’s certainly an option! It’s no secret that the Rockets have one of the league’s worst defenses and the “anyone but Dončić” lever can always be pulled, but Houston’s problems extend beyond shutting down — or attempting to — superstars.
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It’s a myriad of issues. Rotations. Getting back in transition. Communication. When you combine that with a player who has scored 85 points over the last two games and is on another world of confidence, evidenced by the casual 35-footers and Dirk tributes, there’s nothing you can do — at least not with this young personnel.
Houston’s best bet to a win is blitzing Dončić every time he even thinks about initiating a pick-and-roll and pray for the best. But even that is a long shot. Dončić is such a gifted and brilliant player that he’ll know it’s coming and the Mavericks’ offense will be able to pick the Rockets apart enough to where they abandon the strategy. And then you’re back to square one, guarding Dončić one-on-one. At least this is the last time they’ll have to worry about him this season! Happy new year.
(Top photo of Christian Wood and Luka Dončić: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)
