Mavs Made The TRADE That LUKA DONCIC Needed
Luka Doncic is already impossible to guard, so now imagine what happens if you add an 18 and 10 guy as his roll man, who btw can also shoot the three extremely well.
So let me break down why Mavs fans are super excited about the addition of Christian Wood. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
Luka got Dallas all the way to the conference finals despite clearly lacking guys who can create their own shot, especially when we talk about the big men.
Both Kleber and Powell are good at what they do but Wood is the best of both worlds and then some.
He is top 5 in the league when it comes to points from the roll man. And when you see his speed and explosiveness on the pick and roll, you see exactly why that is. Just imagine this action with Luka as the ball handler. This is a big upgrade over Powell.
At the same time, shooting 39.0% from downtown, he can stretch the floor better than Kleber. Check out how quick he is on the pop, and that makes him a 2 way threat in the pick and roll action.
And on top of that, check out what he can do with the ball in his hands. The shake on the perimeter, the drive, and the throwdown. No big on the Mavs roster could do that this year.
Again, he drives through traffic, the spin and the lefty finish.
And of course since you have to respect his outside shooting, there are opportunities like this one off of the shot fake.
So obviously he’s got a great offensive package, but when you look at what the Mavs gave away to get him it’s kind of strange.
Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, Sterling Brown, Boban Marjanovic these are all guys who did not get any significant playing time, so how could his trade value be that low?
Well, there have been reports that the Rockets didn’t like his attitude and his lack of defensive effort.
But going from the worst team in the league to a title contender and a serious organization with a top 5 superstar, I feel like that’s going to get the best out of Wood, and on top of that he’s in his last year of his contract so you know he’s going to be playing extra hard on both ends.
So for the Mavs to get him for 4 non rotation players and a pick it is a great price and it also opens up some roster spots for them.
And if they like what they see from Christian, then they can absorb the 4 year, 77 million contract that he’s eligible to get next year.
Even in the worst possible scenario that it somehow doesn’t work out- they didn’t give up anything.
Except for Bobi. If you go on the Mavs reddit, or on twitter, Dallas fans are all sad to see Marjanovic go. One of the most beloved characters in the league was extremely valuable for the team chemistry so I guess that’s one of the very few downsides here.
Nevertheless, next season Luka not only gets a huge boost at the 4-5 position, but he also gets Tim Hardaway Jr back from his injury and I expect an explosive start of the season for them.
Will Christian Wood be a better fit with Luka than Porzingis was? Let me know in the comments.
That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.