After the Philadelphia 76ers declined to extend a qualifying offer to power forward Christian Wood, the power forward has roared in two summer league games.
What motivates people? Some are motivated by positive feedback, praise and encouragement. They respond to the positive, and work hard to continue to earn praise. Others are motivated by discipline, by lowered expectations. Those persons use negative reactions and feedback as motivation. “You can’t do that!” serves as fuel to show that it can in fact be accomplished.
But Christian Wood? His motivation right now is oblivion. The Philadelphia 76ers did not extend power forward Christian Wood a qualifying offer on June 30, 2016, essentially giving the undrafted power forward few material options to sustain his NBA career going forward.
This is the same Christian Wood who was devastated on NBA Draft night in 2015. The image of his disappointment was so real, so tangible, that it still pains me to see it.
This is about the saddest picture from an NBA Draft you'll ever see -- Christian Wood realizing he's going undrafted. pic.twitter.com/be7ttxLBuT
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) June 26, 2015
Scouts raved about Wood’s 7’3 wingspan, his length, athleticism and his rim protecting ability. He averaged 15.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks with the Rebels in his sophomore year and in the weeks leading up to the draft. But on draft night, his 215-220 pound frame was a liability, considered too light to endure the pounding near the rim.
Next: Land of Opportunity
Land of Opportunity
All he needed was an opportunity. Despite being given a chance with the Philadelphia 76ers last season, his minutes on the court were limited, he was playing behind Landry, Holmes, and the short straw of either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor. Eventually, Okafor’s injury at the end of February did give him a chance to experience the NBA.
But not the chance to thrive with the chance.
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And so, he was not offered a qualifying offer by the team and found himself back to square one. His future in the NBA is fogged over now. He is back to the young man desperate to realize his dream of playing in the NBA. He simply needs the opportunity to do so, again.
Ah, but there it is, He doesn’t have an NBA contract for the 2016-2017 season yet, but he has something, , he has one opportunity. He was offered the opportunity to play with the Philadelphia 76ers in summer league – both at Utah and at Las Vegas. With any luck, and with some lights out performances, he might earn his way back onto a roster spot for the team.
With one of three games remaining to play in Salt Lake City, UT, he now needs to find some luck.
In 17 appearances with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015-2016, Wood averaged 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from the three-point line. During his time with the Delaware 87ers he dominated, averaging 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds in 32 games. Right now, he’s playing like his D-League form.
Next: Summer Sunshine
Summer Sunshine
So far, in two games, Wood is averaging 19.5 points per game to go with 6 rebounds per game, as well as a masterful “where did that come from?” three point shot. You would assume that he’s averaging 26+ minutes per game, right? Wrong. He’s averaging just 17.5 minutes per game. His showcasing of his shooting this summer league will certainly have his agent’s phone ringing. Whether it will be the Philadelphia 76ers on the other end of the phone, remains to be seen.
His summer league coach, Billy Lange, has noticed the huge difference in Wood:
"“Christian is playing great. He’s confident right now and he feels like he belongs out at a different place than maybe he would have a year ago. You see confidence in his offensive game with driving, catching and shooting, making some quicker decisions, going after rebounds.Experience gives you confidence and the game is still a game of confidence. Because Christian just has a little bit of practices and shootarounds and some game minutes, he just feels really good about himself when he’s out there."
It’s not just confidence however. Wood has bulked up, adding about 12 pounds of muscle since the team saw him on the court last season. The difference is huge. A 216 pound power forward is not much of a force. A 230 pound power forward can be. It’s such a significant difference, that the buzz about re-signing Christian Wood is already beginning.
If not the Philadelphia 76ers, another NBA team will surely do so.
Next: Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs
Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers have a glut at the four. With no other transactions, the team will be looking at a roster with power forwards Carl Landy, Richaun Holmes, Dario Saric, and if he is not considered a small forward, Ben Simmons. That’s a tough crowd to “beat out”.
But summer league has a way of making a player too good to resist. While the initial thought is to consider Carl Landy as the player on the bubble, Landry converted an average of just 15.8 minutes per game into a solid 9.8 points per game average. Additionally, Landry has proven to be the type of selfless veteran leadership the teams needs in the front court. That same veteran leadership that is so vogue for the 76ers as they bring on guard Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Henderson.
Richaun Holmes is another player who is young and has a great upside. Two years older than Wood, Holmes is also participating in the summer league, and is making his own statement about protecting the rim.
If Christian Wood is to find a spot on the Philadelphia 76ers roster now, it will need to be such an overwhelming performance, that the outcry from the fans will reach a near deafening level. While he is not at that threshold just yet, the noise is beginning to increase in decibels. And If he does that, the Philadelphia 76ers must be ready to move quickly, as other NBA teams are equally adept at signing players off strong summer league performances.
Next: NBA Rumors: Okafor, Butler, Still on Market, Trade Possible?
Worse things could happen to the Philadelphia 76ers than to sign a player who is producing on the court, and who really wants to play, right?