11 Players who turned their back on the Dallas Mavericks

7. Christian Wood

When the Dallas Mavericks traded for Christian Wood on the night of the 2022 NBA Draft, every Mavs fan was excited. Dallas traded their late first-round pick for a big man who averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 39 percent from downtown.

The Mavs were landing a big man who was dominant on offense and had great defensive stats. Mavs fans were used to seeing Dwight Powell as their starting center, and Wood looked like he was going to be the type of player that could completely transform the Mavs' frontcourt.

Despite high expectations, Wood's time in Dallas was forgettable. Even though he averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, Wood's defense was poor despite averaging 1.1 blocks per game.

He also didn't give good effort and despite having good chemistry with Luka Doncic, he didn't seem fully engaged with his role of coming off the bench.

Dallas was even trying to move him at the trade deadline last season, and he has had some maturity issues throughout his career. It was clear right when the season ended that Wood wouldn't be returning, and he ended up signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.