Much of the rumor mill has been dominated by James Harden as of late for the Philadelphia 76ers. While that is understandable, considering the weight of his upcoming contract decision, the team will certainly make moves beyond Harden this offseason. In the midst of the consistent Harden chatter, it has been suggested that the Sixers could be a team to watch in the Christian Wood market this offseason.
According to Evan Massey of NBA Analysis Network, the Sixers are a “team to watch” for Wood this offseason.
There are definitely matters that make the fit appear a bit clunky between Wood’s known desire to start and the lack of switchable defense with Joel Embiid and Christian Wood in a lineup. There are, however, several reasons that a potential union could find some semblance of success. Wood’s ability to stretch the floor and rebound are much-needed assets for a team that struggled with volume shooting and securing the rebound. Over the past two seasons, Wood has averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 38.4% on 4.6 attempts per game. All of that took just 28.4 minutes per game.
If the Sixers were to add Christian Wood, it would almost certainly have to come in the form of a sign-and-trade with Wood’s current team, the Dallas Mavericks. In any likely scenario, the Mavericks would receive Tobias Harris, while Philadelphia perhaps would return another role player or two in an attempt to match the two salaries closer.
Nothing is set in stone yet, it’s unlikely any dominos fall before Harden’s decision is made, but for now, the early makings of the Sixers’ free-agent market seem to be forming, and Christian Wood is by no means a boring name to start with.
