‘Fun’ Boston Celtics target seeking bigger role if settling for vet’s minimum
“Fun” potential Boston Celtics big man free agent target Christian Wood is likely seeking a bigger role in the rotation than what the Cs are able to offer behind Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III if Wood is going to settle for a veteran’s minimum contract according to MassLive’s Brian Robb.
“That would certainly be a fun option to have as a fourth big but I don’t know if Wood is looking for a bigger role if he’s going to settle for the veteran’s minimum,” Wood prefaced before saying, “There are a lot of teams out there with the mid-level exception still to use and if Wood wants to score a new big deal in a season or two, he’s going to have to go somewhere that can give him consistent minutes.”
Wood is coming off a season in which his counting stats went down, but not at the expense of his overall efficiency; but rather a decrease in minutes from Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd due to the big man’s lack of defense.
Boston Celtics would only be a Christian Wood landing spot if big man got injured
Robb did leave the door open for Wood to become a free agent signing for the Boston Celtics in the event there was an injury to the rotation ahead or during training camp — or beyond that, if Wood is still unemployed after the 2023-24 season tips off.
“The Celtics could conceivably be that spot if someone in the frontcourt gets hurt but if not, he could only see spot minutes many nights with his defensive limitations,” Robb wrote. “He’s been linked to the Lakers for much of the last few weeks but would expect him to wait until closer to camp to make a decision to see if other dominoes falling open up a chance for him.”
Wood would be a gross surplus of talent in the C’s frontcourt, but Boston’s front office certainly shouldn’t hope to have their backs against the wall and be forced to sign Wood as per the conditions the team would have to pursue him under. Given Danilo Gallinari’s FIBA World Cup injury in 2022, Porzingis’ participation in the 2023 event is enough to have the Houdini sweating.