Could Christian Wood Fill A Huge Hole for the Boston Celtics?

The Boston Celtics tried to pry Christian Wood from the Pistons in February. Their offers were rejected, but it gleans insight into what we can expect from Danny Ainge in free agency.

Now that Wood is an unrestricted free agent and open for business, look for the C’s to begin negotiations as soon as the clock strikes 6:00 pm EST on November 20^th.

As far as why the Celtics should sign Christian Wood, that’s easy.

Littered with all sorts of talent on the perimeter, who does Brad Stevens have to rely on in the post?

Daniel Theis? Robert Williams?

Enes Kanter averaged 7.0 minutes/game in the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Heat and appeared in just two games in the prior series (vs. Raptors).

If the Celtics have plans on making it past the ECF in 2021, they frantically need a legitimate big man who can be trusted during crunch time.

Having just turned 25 in September, Christian Wood’s best years are right in front of him. Blake Griffin’s injury gave us our first good look at Wood could do in extended stretches on the floor, and he did anything but disappoint.

In the final 16 games of Detroit’s truncated season, Wood tallied 21.6 points and 9.1 rebounds (per game). He shot 56% from the floor and over 40% from beyond the arc.

We’re talking about a budding superstar who’s set to put the league on notice.

Acquiring a gifted post player is unquestionably among the Celtics biggest needs. Not only does Christian Wood fit that bill to a tee, but his hunger to win fits right in line with this team’s persona.

Think Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart.

Regarding Wood – here’s an undrafted individual who has played for five different teams in five years as a professional. Christian’s never tasted the playoffs and is yet to experience being part of a winning culture.

While getting paid is item #1 on his agenda, don’t kid yourself into thinking that “going to a contender” won’t come into play.

The Celtics aren’t the only team that’s going to aggressively pursue the extremely versatile big man in Detroit.

Christian Wood is expected to draw interest from both young teams pushing for a playoff appearance and veteran teams with championship hopes, per @KevinOConnorNBA.

The Celtics and Rockets inquired about Wood prior to the trade deadline this year. ? pic.twitter.com/L0kXlx0X6Z

— Hoopsview (@hoopsview) November 11, 2020

Charlotte is desperately searching for a budding post player, as are the Knicks and the Warriors. However, each of these teams is in a position to do so in a big way on draft night.

The question in Beantown becomes, does Boston have enough flexibility within their payroll to make a run at Wood?

Gordon Hayward declining his $34 million player option would pave the way for Danny Ainge to ink Christian to a deal. On the other hand, don’t discount a potential sign-and-trade deal coming to the forefront.

Keep in mind, the Celtics own three first-round picks in the 2020 NBA Draft – including a lottery selection at #14. A package centered around a couple of those picks could at least open up the discussion with the Pistons front office.