When Christian Wood signed with Houston in November 2020, the landscape looked very different than it does today. At the time, former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook were still under contract. Now, the young Rockets are in the early stages of a clear rebuild.
Now 27 years old, Wood is older than some of his new high-profile teammates, like 21-year-old Kevin Porter Jr. and 19-year-old rookie Jalen Green. But that doesn’t mean that he regrets his decision.
Here’s what Wood told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:
I know what we’re trying to build and develop. I’m looking ahead at the future at what this team has to offer. I know we have a bunch of young talent. I said before, we’re not going to go in try to be the No. 1 seed or No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. But we’re going to try to play every game like it’s our last.
I’m with it. I told Raf [general manager Rafael Stone], I told Coach [Stephen Silas], I’m with whatever they’re trying to do, and I want to stay for the long haul.
In his first season as a consistent NBA starter, Wood averaged 21.0 points (51.4% FG, 37.4% on 3-pointers) and 9.9 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game last season. The athletic big man drew All-Star consideration before a severe ankle sprain in February, which he says is now fully healed.
New #Rockets at #TXSN – Christian Wood finds patience with rebuilding Rockets but bigger goals remain https://t.co/q18saDl39Z
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 4, 2021
While the contract sentiment is encouraging, it remains to be seen whether Wood’s timeline will mesh with that of the Rockets. He’s now in the second season of a three-year contract, which will have the 6-foot-10 big man entering free agency in the 2023 offseason. While Wood’s current deal is a bargain at under $14 million per season (on average), he’s indicated that he believes he will be a “max player” by salary in the future. That would more than double his average annual value.
Houston will have Bird rights on Wood, so they could exceed the salary cap to retain him. However, if the Rockets don’t believe they have the foundation of a championship contender in place at that time, Stone may have a difficult decision to make about whether re-signing Wood at a high figure could prove prohibitive to adding talent in the future. Should that be the case, trading Wood to a short-term contender for draft picks or younger talent (i.e. further away from a max deal) might be prudent.
That decision is likely some time away, though. For now, the Rockets enter 2021-22 knowing they have a star big man on a desirable contract, and they can use this season to evaluate the fit alongside Green and Porter Jr. while mulling whether a longer-term partnership makes sense.
