NBA News Roundup: Detroit Pistons tried to lowball Christian Wood; Kristaps Porzingis to return next week
In today's NBA news, it has been reported that the Detroit Pistons may have lowballed Christian Wood during negotiations which led to him being dealt to the Houston Rockets. Wood’s star is rising and the Pistons are probably kicking themselves for not fighting for him hard enough.
Wood was acquired by the Rockets in a three-year, $41 million sign-and-trade deal in the offseason. That’s an average of $13.7 million annually for the undrafted player from UNLV who made his debut during the 2015-16 season.
NBA News Roundup: Christian Wood offer from Pistons possibly revealed
According to a report from Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the Pistons weren’t willing to pay Wood more than a certain amount that eventually led to the deal with the Rockets.
“The Pistons were interested in re-signing Wood, but an NBA source said they weren’t interested in paying more than $8 million annually,” Spears wrote. “So, on Nov. 20, Wood agreed to a sign-and-trade deal with the Rockets.”
Interestingly, the source article written by Spears was edited without the $8 million figure that was originally there. Here’s what is written in the article now:
“The Pistons were interested in re-signing Wood, but an NBA source said the Rockets made a more lucrative offer. So, on Nov. 20, Wood agreed to a sign-and-trade deal with the Rockets.”
Regardless of the specifics of the Pistons’ offer, Wood believes his value doesn’t reflect the contract that he signed with the Rockets.
“The long-term contract meant a lot to me,” Wood told The Undefeated. “It showed me how hard I worked and how far I came from going from a minimum and non-guaranteed contract to being waived a number of times that I couldn’t even tell you to signing three years, $41 million. It’s incredible.
“Not to be cocky, but I actually think I’m worth more than that.”
As a starter for the Rockets this season, Wood is averaging career-highs across the board with 23.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.0 blocks in 35 minutes of playing time per game. In related NBA news, the person the Pistons spent that $8 million per year on - Mason Plumlee - has received some of the blame for Detroit's early struggles and is averaging just 8.0 points per game.
Seeing Wood’s progression in Houston, Detroit officials are probably beside themselves for their lowball offer to a potential NBA star.
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NBA News Roundup: Kristaps Porzingis could return within a week or two
In other NBA news, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle shared an update on the return of Kristaps Porzingis from a torn meniscus injury that required surgery in October.
Recent NBA news reports had the Mavericks targeting a January timetable for his return and he was cleared for practice by late December. He’s been ruled out of the Denver Nuggets matchup on Thursday but there’s a possibility that he will be available to play within the next three-to-four games.
Porzingis suffered the knee injury during the Mavs' first-round matchup against the Clippers and he has not appeared in any games for Dallas this season.
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