Christian Wood Signs With the Lakers

At the tail end of a busy offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have made an additional move as the summer winds down, signing forward/center Christian Wood to a two-year, $5.7 million contract.

Wood becomes the latest addition to the Lakers team that has made several moves this offseason, including re-signing Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura, and bringing in Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish, and Taurean Prince.

What Does Wood Bring to Los Angeles?

Undrafted coming out of college in 2015, Wood spent the first four years of his career moving between several different teams before his breakout season with the Detroit Pistons in 2019-20. That resulted in his first major contract with the Houston Rockets, where he started in 108 games over two seasons before his move to the Dallas Mavericks last season.

In Dallas, Wood averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 37.6% from behind the arc. Wood will likely fill the gig of Anthony Davis' backup in Los Angeles, which is a role that has been vital for the Lakers in recent seasons due to Davis' injury history.

Since arriving in Los Angeles, Davis has played more than 60 games in a season just once, in 2019-20, and since then, he has averaged just 44 games played per season. In Wood, the Lakers have a quality backup who can step into a larger role and also play at forward, if needed.

Securing his services at the free agent minimum was a solid move by Los Angeles.

Betting Odds Impact

The addition of Wood did have an impact on the Lakers' NBA Championship odds, shifting them from +1500 to +1300.

With their moves this offseason. Los Angeles improved its outlook for the 2023-24 campaign, moving from the seventh-best title odds the day after the NBA Finals to the sixth-best odds today.

After a promising finish to their 2022-23 season, the Lakers have continued to move in the right direction this offseason. As it stands, they have the fourth-best odds to win the West (+800) -- behind the Denver Nuggets (+240), the Phoenix Suns (+310), and the Golden State Warriors (+600).

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