Christian Wood

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/7/18

Here are Friday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Bucks assigned big man Christian Wood to the Wisconsin Herd, the team’s PR department tweets. Wood has played in four games for the Herd this season, averaging 22.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG and 2.0 BPG in 32.7 MPG. He’s averaging 4.2 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 6.2 MPG in six games with Milwaukee.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/30/18

Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • The Rockets assigned veteran point guard Brandon Knight to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Knight is close to making his Houston debut after sitting out since April 2017 with a torn ACL. He’ll play for the Vipers on Friday when they host the Salt Lake City Stars. We have more details here.
  • The Celtics recalled Brad Wanamaker from the Maine Red Claws, the team’s PR department tweets. Boston wanted a little more backcourt depth with Jaylen Brown declared out for Friday’s game against the Cavaliers. Wanamaker has appeared in five games with the Celtics, averaging 3.2 PPG in 6.2 MPG.
  • The Bucks recalled big man Christian Wood from the Wisconsin Herd, according to a team press release. Wood has appeared in three games for the Herd, averaging 23.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 1.7 BPG in 33.4 MPG. He’s seen action in five Bucks games, averaging 3.8 PPG in 6.8 MPG.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/17/18

Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Bucks have assigned both guard Sterling Brown and big man Christian Wood to the Wisconsin Herd for tonight’s game against the Windy City Bulls, per the team’s official Twitter feed.
  • Nearly two weeks after being assigned to the G League, the Pacers have recalled center Ike Anigbogu back to the team, according to an official press release. Anigbogu has appeared in four games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate, averaging 10.5 points and 10 rebounds per game.
  • The Suns have recalled rookie point guard Elie Okobo from their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, per a release from the team. In his first-career assignment, Okobo averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals in two games.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/13/18

Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

Wood To Get Bucks’ Final Roster Spot?

The Bucks will keep Christian Wood on the roster after a strong preseason performance, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Wood was believed to be competing with Tim Frazier for the final spot, but a source tells Spears that the team has made its choice.

The 23-year-old power forward/center signed with Milwaukee shortly before the start of training camp last month. If he does make the roster, the Bucks would be Wood’s third team in three years after playing 17 games for the Sixers in 2016/17 and 13 games with the Hornets last season. Wood has also spent significant time in the G League over the last three years, playing in Delaware and Greensboro.

Wood has a two-year, non-guaranteed contract that will pay him $1,512,601 this season and $1,645,357 in 2019/20 if he remains on the Bucks’ roster.

Milwaukee cleared the path for Wood with a couple of high-profile cuts this week. The team waived Shabazz Muhammad on Thursday, then parted ways with Tyler Zeller earlier today.

 

 

Bucks Notes: Wood, Muhammad, Budenholzer, New Arena

Christian Wood appears to have the advantage in the battle for the Bucks’ final roster spot based on his performance in today’s intrasquad scrimmage, according to Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The team entered training camp with 14 guaranteed contracts and four players competing for one position: Wood, Shabazz Muhammad, Tim Frazier and Tyler Zeller.

Wood, who signed with the Bucks last week, stood out today with several offensive rebounds, a few 3-pointers and a steady performance on defense. He has been trying to earn an NBA job since leaving Nevada-Las Vegas in 2015, but has played in just 30 combined games with the Sixers and Hornets.

Muhammad, who came to Milwaukee in March after being waived by the Timberwolves, was also impressive enough to get noticed by Khris Middleton.

“C-Wood and Bazz, they’re competing for a roster spot and you could tell by the way they played,” Middleton said. “They were everywhere.”

There’s more Bucks news to pass along, all courtesy of Velazquez:

  • New coach Mike Budenholzer’s philosophy was on display in the scrimmage as even the centers were taking a healthy number of 3-pointers. Brook Lopez made three from long distance in a 4 1/2-minute stretch and Wood impressed with his outside marksmanship as well. Even John Henson, who has taken just 13 shots from 3-point range in his career, was experimenting with them. “We’re encouraging a lot of spacing, guys having a lot of confidence,” Budenholzer said. “It felt like we shot a ton of them.”
  • The Bucks are hoping to use their bench more than in past seasons, and today’s action suggests there are a lot of players who can contribute. Ersan Ilyasova and Pat Connaughton, who both signed as free agents over the summer, provide two more outside shooting threats. Rookie Donte DiVincenzo looked promising and holdovers Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova and Thon Maker seemed more comfortable in Budenholzer’s new system.
  • The scrimmage was the first event at the Bucks’ new Fiserv Forum, and the noise level was noticeable, even though the building was only partially filled. Players are hoping the new arena will provide a greater homecourt advantage than the old Bradley Center.

Central Notes: Lopez, Butler, Wood, Van Gundy

Robin Lopez is among several Bulls players reporting for training camp who may not be with the team all season, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times. The veteran center is an attractive trade chip with a $14.3MM expiring contract. First-rounder Wendell Carter seems destined to become the starting center at some point, and Lopez doesn’t fit in with Chicago’s rebuilding project at age 30.

Lopez was sent to the bench late last season as part of the Bulls’ tanking effort. Cowley relays that he was upset about the move, but refused to complain publicly about not playing.

“It was rough for me, but I get it, I understood it,’’ Lopez said. “I always want to be out there playing on the court. I want to be playing obviously, but we’ve got a great group of guys here. I think the future is bright and I think I can be a part of it in some way.’’

Cowley identifies free agent addition Jabari Parker as another player who could be moved by the trade deadline. With a $20MM team option for next season, Parker could be seen as a low-risk addition for a contending team.

There’s more today from the Central Division:

  • The Bucks shouldn’t be overlooked as a possible destination for Jimmy Butler, tweets Darren Wolfson of Eyewitness 5 News in Minneapolis. Butler went to Marquette and still has ties to the Milwuakee area, Wolfson notes, plus the Bucks are moving into a new arena and would have a shot at winning the East with Butler on board.
  • Christian Wood received a $100K guarantee in his training camp deal with the Bucks, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Milwaukee already has 14 players with guaranteed contracts, so Wood will be competing for the final roster spot with Tyler Zeller, Shabazz Muhammad and Tim Frazier.
  • At age 59, Stan Van Gundy doesn’t feel ready to retire, but his wife doesn’t want him to coach anymore, relays Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Van Gundy is without a job as training camp opens after the Pistons fired him as head coach and president of basketball operations in May. “I don’t care who you are, what job you are in, when you’ve worked at something for a long time and tried to become good at it and everything else, it’s not easy to walk away — particularly when it’s not on your own terms,” Van Gundy said. “Kim’s major thing is that I’m not happy [during seasons]. You don’t need to do it, so why are you going to do something that doesn’t make you happy.”

Bucks Sign Big Man Christian Wood

SEPTEMBER 21: The signing is official and includes a significant partial guarantee, according to RealGM. ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides specific details, tweeting that Wood will get $100K in guaranteed money.

AUGUST 15: The Bucks have reached an agreement with big man Christian Wood, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a training camp deal with an opportunity to make the 15-man roster, according to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The 6’11” Wood made a splash with the Bucks in the Las Vegas summer league, where he was named all-first team. He averaged 20.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 2.8 BPG over 27.1 MPG in five games. He also posted impressive numbers in 45 G League games last season, averaging 23.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.7 BPG in 33.1 MPG while playing for the Delaware 87ers, the Sixers’ affiliate.

The Raptors recently took a look at Wood while working out free agent big men.

Milwaukee already had a full roster when it reached an agreement with swingman Shabazz Muhammad earlier this week. It had 14 players with guaranteed contracts, four with non- or partially-guaranteed deals, and two on two-way pacts prior to the Muhammad and Wood agreements, so it will have to shed two players to fit them in.

Undrafted in 2015, Wood has appeared in 30 NBA games. He played 17 for the Sixers during his rookie campaign and 13 more with the Hornets in 2016/17. He averaged 3.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 8.4 MPG in those games.

Central Rumors: Leuer, Wood, Love, Bullock

Pistons big man Jon Leuer is expected to be ready by the season opener and perhaps by the start of training camp, Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press tweets. Leuer underwent surgery to repair a meniscus issue that arose during a workout earlier this month. Leuer appeared in just eight games last season due to a left ankle injury that required season-ending surgery in January. The team is hopeful Leuer, who is entering the third year of a four-year, $42MM contract, can return his role as a rotation player at center and power forward.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Christian Wood is confident he can earn a spot on the Bucks’ opening day roster, as he expressed to HoopsHype’s Bryan Kalbrosky. The 6’11’ Wood reached an agreement with Milwaukee on a training camp deal after posting big numbers on their summer league squad. “Once I get the time and people see me, I know that I can be an X-factor in the NBA. I can run the floor and beat other bigs and I’m faster than most people my size,” he told Kalbrosky.
  • Kevin Love had a pretty good idea that LeBron James would either pick the Lakers or stay with the Cavs, he revealed in an ESPN interview that was relayed by Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. “I knew it was probably between Cleveland and Los Angeles. I think he’s always looking for a different challenge. He’s always wondering what’s next, and it feels like sometimes he’s playing chess and everybody else is playing checkers,” Love said.
  • The Pistons have depth at the wing spots but Reggie Bullock will retain his starting spot under new coach Dwane Casey, MLive’s Ansar Khan writes. Bullock emerged as one of the league’s top 3-point shooters last season after being inserted into the lineup. He’s one of the league’s biggest bargains at $2.5MM, as Khan notes, and should get a much bigger contract as a free agent next summer if he has a similar season.

Raptors Working Out Free Agent Big Men

The Raptors are conducting workouts for free agent big men, reports Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link). According to Kennedy, Thomas Robinson and Christian Wood are among the players earning a look from Toronto.

Having traded Jakob Poeltl to the Spurs in their blockbuster trade for Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors could use a little more depth in their frontcourt. While players like Leonard and OG Anunoby may see time at the four in smaller lineups, the only genuine bigs on the roster are Jonas Valanciunas, Serge Ibaka, and Pascal Siakam.

The Raptors have also signed second-year power forward Chris Boucher, but he’s a prospect on an Exhibit 10 contract, and likely won’t be counted on to play a real role during the season, assuming he even makes the 15-man roster.

A weekend report indicated that the Raptors have expressed some interest in free agent center Greg Monroe. Besides having a more extensive NBA track record than players like Robinson and Wood, Monroe also has a different skill set, so it will be interesting to see exactly what kind of player Toronto is looking for and how much the club is willing to spend.

The Raptors still have their $5.34MM taxpayer mid-level exception available, but their team salary is far beyond the luxury-tax line, so every dollar spent to fill out the roster will cost exponentially more in potential tax penalties. As such, Toronto may end up focusing on minimum-salary targets.