Should the Minnesota Timberwolves pursue Rockets C Christian Wood?

The fact that the Minnesota Timberwolves are seeking frontcourt help places the team in the same group as about 20 other NBA teams. But there may be help on the horizon. The Houston Rockets have an outstanding center/power forward named Christian Wood. And this year, like almost each of the past six years he has played in the NBA, his name is rumored to be mentioned as a player that could be traded away.

Christian Wood is 6-foot-10 and weighs just 214-pounds. Offensively, he can score points. Defensively? Well, he is ranked somewhere from ‘he stinks’ on social media, to he struggles to defend his assigned player by more diplomatic NBA Analysts.

So why would the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team already on the ropes for questionable defense, want to show any interest in Wood? Well, for starters, Wood would ensure that the Timberwolves would be able to apply offensive pressure on their opponent even if Karl-Anthony Towns is resting on the bench.

Stephen Silas said he had to pull the plug on the Sengun/Wood pairing citing both the eye test and the data. The data has been bad, but I thought they looked awesome at times, particularly when used properly: with Sengun as the initiator and Wood rolling or in the dunker spot. pic.twitter.com/0ee8MaTTor

— PaoloNinetyFour (@RedNinetyFour) January 28, 2022

So what is it about Christian Wood that is so befuddling? Well, he is a rather rare center/power forward in that he has abundant ability to score.   But in the modern NBA, there is the need to create spacing, which means plenty of passing the ball around for the best look. Wood simply fails to pass the ball around, or even generate his own plays.

And then there is the small (sarcasm alert) matter of deficient defense. But there are a number of positives as well. Woods can get rebounds, and he can score points. In fact, his three-point shot is downright impressive, with his 3P% coming in at .380 for his career. His FG% is a solid .519 over his career as well. The guy can…