(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers have to be considered one of, if not the winner of the offseason as they were able to bolster their roster and give LeBron James and Anthony Davis a legitimate chance to compete for a title.
The Lakers re-signed their young core of Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura but they also managed to lure Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, and Jaxson Hayes with reasonable deals.
All six players project to have clearly defined roles for the 2023-24 season, but Los Angeles gave themselves some added flexibility when they signed Christian Wood as well.
Wood spent most of the summer weighing his options, but ultimately decided to return home to Southern California on a two-year deal for the league minimum.
The talented center is a scoring threat from all over the floor and gives the Lakers another option to feed the ball to whenever James or Davis sits.
Wood comes with his downsides, but people like Rachel Nichols are overwhelmingly in favor of the move.
“This is low-risk with potential very high reward,” Nichols said on “Undisputed” recently.
.@Rachel__Nichols LOVES the Christian Wood acquisition for the Lakers:
“This is low-risk with potential very HIGH reward.” pic.twitter.com/pLTHKS7pxR
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) September 7, 2023
Wood has a player option for the second year, but should he not work out for the team in year one then they can simply cut him and move on.
However, the Lakers are banking on him buying into the team culture and he himself should be motivated to earn a more lucrative deal next summer.
It’s a mutually beneficial partnership for both sides and Los Angeles strengthened their title hopes.
The post Rachel Nichols Shares Her Thoughts On Lakers Signing Christian Wood appeared first on The Cold Wire.