4 former Dallas Mavericks thriving elsewhere, 4 struggling this season

2. Struggling: Christian Wood

The Dallas Mavericks traded for Christian Wood on draft night in 2022, and fans couldn't wait to see him on the court.

Although he wasn't promised the starting spot, fans thought that Wood had the potential to be a game changer in Dallas. They saw the great offensive numbers in Houston combined with his ability to occasionally protect the rim and quickly loved him.

Despite the excitement and great offensive talent, Wood's time in Dallas was not the best. He had great stats, as he averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, but the eye test says otherwise for Wood.

He was awful defensively, and it seems that he wasn't happy with his role of coming off the bench. There have even been rumors that Mavs head coach Jason Kidd didn't even want him in the first place, and that is an awful sign.

This season for the Lakers, Wood is averaging 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. His stats are way down, and he hasn't been nearly as good offensively as he was in Dallas. Wood's defense has been a little better, but his low offensive volume combined with his stats show that he isn't performing at the level that he has been over the past few years.

He remains a valuable bench option for Los Angeles, but his days of averaging over 15 points per game could be over.