2. Christian Wood
No matter which team Christian Wood plays for, we see the same vicious cycle play out. It starts with the fanbase getting excited over how cheap Wood signed for, then being impressed after a few strong scoring performances early on, then his defensive liabilities see Wood demoted to a lesser role, followed by a string of leaked rumors that Wood isn’t happy with his playtime.
To put this into perspective, Wood has yet to play even just 300 NBA games, but has already played for (and been subsequently released by) seven different teams. Yes, you heard that right, seven teams. Whether on a contender or a tanking team looking to find a diamond in the rough, Wood has consistently had issues with the way he’s been utilized.
Christian Wood will undoubtedly find another team to take shelter with in free agency, but it shouldn’t be the Chicago Bulls.
Instead of convincing ourselves we can somehow change him, we should be wise to learn from the mistakes made by his previous employers by not offering Wood a contract this summer.
At the very least, I do see why many would be interested in adding Wood. The Bulls’ frontcourt rotation has been notoriously weak the last few years, even after adding former All-Star Nikola Vucevic to anchor the center position.
Having at least one player other than Vucevic who could go out there and get a bucket would be nice, but it’s a luxury Chicago likely won’t be able to afford this summer. Not because the Bulls can’t afford it financially, but because this team’s culture isn’t strong enough to withstand a key player wreaking havoc in the locker room.