10:31pm: In exchange for agreeing to sign-and-trade Wood to Houston as part of the previously agreed-upon Ariza deal, the Pistons will acquire a future second-round pick and will add even more protections to the first-round pick they’re sending to the Rockets, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic.
9:18pm: The Rockets are now in agreement with Wood, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be a three-year, $41MM deal.
That’s a significant increase on what was reported earlier and it means it’ll have to be a sign-and-trade rather than a move that uses Houston’s mid-level exception. It’ll presumably be folded into the not-yet-official trade sending Trevor Ariza from the Rockets to the Pistons.
Houston will be hard-capped at $138.93MM for the 2020/21 league year as a result of acquiring a player via sign-and-trade.
7:58pm: After Frank Isola of SiriusXM NBA Radio reported (via Twitter) that the Rockets were close to finalizing a three-year, $27MM agreement with big man Christian Wood, Shams Charania of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Wood remains engaged with interested teams.
Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle refers to Wood as Houston’s “top free agent target,” but hears from a source close to the player that a deal isn’t close to being finalized at this point.
If the Rockets can complete a deal with Wood, it would be a major get for the organization, as the Pistons big man is one of the most intriguing frontcourt players of this year’s free agent class.
Wood had a breakout year in 2019/20, though his full-season stats (13.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG) don’t tell the full story — after he entered the starting lineup following the Drummond trade, he recorded 22.8 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 2.0 APG over his final 13 games. He also showed off an improved three-point shot, making 54-of-140 attempts (38.6%) on the season, despite having only attempted 42 threes prior to 2019/20.
Detroit has already reached deals with a pair of centers tonight, agreeing to sign Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor. While that doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t re-sign Wood, it probably reduces the odds that he’ll remain with the Pistons. A sign-and-trade remains a viable possibility though, especially if his contract ends up in the range that Isola’s report suggests.
Whether or not they’re able to secure a commitment from Wood, the fact that they’re in the mix for him is a signal that the Rockets are in the market for big men after their micro-ball experiment in 2019/20. If Wood signs elsewhere, Houston will still have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception available to address the position.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wow big score. Nice job Rockets.
Oooh big score after Detroit pulled him out of the trash heap and polished his game up and gave himshine time. Now Houston thinks they will reap the benefits huh. Well if things stay on track for Rockets this will be another pie to the face for them.
Your tears sustain me.
Damn, nice get for rockets!
Sign and trade so now pistons get something. I think this pick up is the exact thing rockets needed to keep harden happy.
They were already getting Ariza anyway.
What happened to the Lakers getting Wood. Already gave up lol:
My former teammate in Charlotte my rookie year. Happy to see him get this opportunity!
Drop the act you never played in the nba, your a burner and still live with your parents.
Lol
Bruh I literally thought the same thing. Hahaha
Damn you caught him…thanks for patrolling the internet for us chief
Wow. Mindless figured out that really isn’t Traveon Graham. Who knew.
Leave the guy alone. He’s harmless. Plus, he is kind of funny sometimes. And he really knows a lot about Graham.
Now, that is a value signing. Very nice for the ROCKETS.
SHOCKING
Hmm is certainly does’nt fit Sillvans “Real Proj Value system”
Clearly this is not true
Wood is worth more than 9m a year
Except when he signs with an actual contender.
Guess we’ll have to wait for him to sign with an actual contender to test that idea out
Way to fight when you’re (sort of) right
Yeah..you were off jsut a little on this one.
Oh well guess Josh Jackson will be the next cast off the Pistons shine up for the rest of the league to start salivating over lol.
Josh Jackson is and always will be a bust. No shining him up. And if wood was so great and you put so much work into him why not keep him? You’re signing all these Schmucks instead of wood. What gives?
That I truly don’t know. My only guess is he did not like Detroit and wantedtoleave and the FO knew tgat ahead of time. But no matter anyway he literally cost us nothing as he has a waiver pickup. And furthermore there are still questions if he can sustain his breakout play from last year
I do not think Piston fans were sold on him; probably for good reason IMO.
If Wood, Plumlee, and Okafor could be pieced together… but who knows what’s going on with that team. Maybe they hired Dr.Frankenstein. Apologies for the pseudo-humor.
Formerlyz, I think Wood is the classic “must be used correctly” player. Some other team can make the effort.
He is on the verge of a breakout once he is finally used correctly. Thought several teams should be in on him as a defender/2nd or 3rd playmaking guard/combo forward. Detroit has grabbed a few guys that fit some of those teams that badly need defense at those positions…Thought GS was one team he would have made sense on
What the hell, we got a Dwight Howard moment here ……… stay tuned.
Hoping lakers swoop him would be a steal for 12 million a year.
If that’s all he required, then I am sorry the Knicks weren’t in on it. I believe I read numbers double that.
Isola had Wood getting the MLE instead of a sign and trade for about $13M/year. Now Houston has a solid replacement for Capela.
I wouldn’t call it a replacement lol. No offense but Rockets dumped Capela. He was never part of this team to be replaced. Saying that
It’s an excellent pickup. Solid young big. Don’t get if this is to entice MVPs to stay. Or a sign to move into rebuilding. Why get rid of Covington. Oh well nice get. Can’t believe it took 13 mill. I always said 12 mill. But they were reporting he was worth 15 and could get 20.
Can’t believe everything right.
3 way deal add Blazers?
Rockets add House or Gordon？
Good deal for Rockets basically trading Ariza, a first and a second for Wood and a first
Or in a broader sense, Covington and a 2nd for Wood and the Blazers first round pick in 2021 plus a heavily protected first from Detroit.
So, Houston is going to remain an also ran in the West. The core of Harden and Westbrook are not enough to make it into the NBA finals. They are getting old. Time to move on.
Harden and Westbrook may be getting old. But both of them are still younger than LeBron, Durant, Chris Paul, Steph Curry, Melo, Aldridge, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Lou Williams, Iggy, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, or Paul Millsap.
Umm…Ok…Has the Harden/Westbrook dou brought home a championship? I think not. It might still be possible. But, the likelihood grows less everyday.
Neither has half of the guys he mentioned. Championships are not the be all and end all that some believe. They are important, but they are not the only requirement for someone to be great. From start to finish, the Rockets were one of the 4-5 best franchises of the 2010s even though they didn’t win a championship. Definitely the best that didn’t win one.
I agree. That’s why I avoid the likes of Stephen A Smith. Great players don’t always win Championships. But you have to have the right combination of players to win.
I totally agree there. I just feel sometimes people like to pile onto the Rockets just because HWM sometimes goes overboard with his fandom. They really have been a great team the past decade, just not the best any single year. I liken it to a NASCAR driver that rarely wins but is always in contention and usually finishes in the top 5. Of course, I have no idea what that sport is doing anymore.
I grew up near Oakland. I know how bad the Dubs were. Curry has been a revelation. He is probably not the greatest of all time. But, hella fun to watch and enjoy. The championships are just the cherry on the top.
Yeah Curry definitely turned that franchise around. The Warriors were basically a punchline between the peak of Run TMC until Curry was drafted. He has not only been one of the greats of all time, but he almost single-handedly remade a stagnant franchise. The only player that has done that is LeBron with Cleveland and maybe you could argue Wade with Miami (although Shaq helped a lot). You cannot give those two enough credit even if you don’t like one or the other.
I meant this century. Of course Jordan did it with the Bulls too. And probably a few others last century.
Sometimes?
That puts the Rockets hardcapped at $139MM, but Harden, Westbrook, Gordon, and Wood take up $114MM. That only leaves $25MM for 11, or more likely 10 other players + a pair of two-way deals. They better work out a deal for one or both of the two big guys with a team that has cap space quickly or they are in trouble.
And Tucker takes up $8MM of that $25MM. So that drops you to $17MM for 9-10 players + 2 2ways. It’s a good starting lineup, but the rest of the team will be min guys. If they don’t work out a deal, they better hope nobody gets hurt.
Pistons were smart to make it a sign and trade. Considering all the attention Woods was getting. I never expected him to sign for less than 15 mill. I was scared Knicks would offer 20 mill. Always thought 10-12 mill was more than enough. Considering his resume. I guess teams didn’t really want him that bad. And I don’t get why he didn’t do the FA tour. He was in great position that most young players don’t get. Oh well, it is what is. Great pickup for Rockets.