LeBron James preemptively warned team about new signee Christian Wood: "That guy is trouble"
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is aware of the qualities of new signing Christian Wood.
The Lakers continue to build their supporting cast around James and Anthony Davis. General manager Rob Pelinka has added multiple new faces throughout the offseason. Among them is Wood, who reportedly joins the Lakers rotation on a two-year deal.
Wood is an offensively gifted big man known for his scoring ability in the pick-and-roll. He's also renowned for spacing the floor for teams that like to play a five-out system. It appears that James is aware of Wood's talent, as he previously warned his team about the impact the big man can make.
"Ok ok... hold him. Hold his a*s. ... That guy is trouble," James was seen telling Marc Gasol in 2021. "Hold him down."
LeBron's comments regarding Wood came during the 2020-21 season, as he was instructing Marc Gasol to box Wood out during some free throws. Wood is a solid athlete with good bounce, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game, with 1.5 of those coming on the offensive glass.
Wood will give the Lakers additional options at both power forward and center positions and add an additional punch to an offense that often became stagnant last season. However, the veteran big man will need to silence his critics regarding his defensive shortcomings.
LeBron James will have another pick-and-roll partner
Christian Wood joins the Lakers following a disappointing spell with the Dallas Mavericks. Playing alongside Luka Doncic, Wood struggled to fit into the team's system and found himself out of the rotation.
However, in Los Angeles, Wood's remit will be to play to his strengths — that means being a reliable screener for LeBron James, providing an outlet on rim runs or rolling to the basket on pick-and-roll plays, and, of course, being a pick-and-pop big man.
In Anthony Davis, LeBron James has an elite pick-and-roll partner, but there are times when it makes sense to stretch the floor by placing Davis on the weakside as the action unfolds. In moments like that, where Davis isn't the screener or is not on the court, Wood could help James continue to operate as a high-level ball-handler.
Furthermore, D'Angelo Russell could also thrive alongside Wood due to his athleticism around the rim and floor spacing. Both attributes should help generate some additional room for him to operate when probing the defense.
The Lakers and LeBron James' aim for the upcoming season is to challenge for another championship, Wood could help them get there, so long as coach Darvin Ham can find ways to protect the big man at the defensive end.