The Houston Rockets have agreed to acquire the No. 26 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft in a reported deal with the Dallas Mavericks, according to multiple reports. The Rockets reportedly will send big man Christian Wood to Dallas in the trade.
Additionally, Houston will add Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss as part of the reported trade. The deal will not be finalized until the NBA Draft on June 23, The Associated Press reports.
Mavericks reportedly receive:
• Christian Wood
Rockets reportedly receive:
• No. 26 pick
• Boban Marjanovic
• Sterling Brown
• Trey Burke
• Marquese Chriss
Wood, a fifth-year forward, averaged 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists over 68 games with Houston during the 2021-22 season. He was one of nine players to average at least 17 points and 10 rebounds, joining Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, New Orleans’ Jonas Valanciunas, Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic and Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton.
Houston also has the No. 3 pick in the 2022 Draft, with the most likely selection in that spot being Auburn’s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren or Duke’s Paolo Banchero. Orlando picks No. 1, followed by Oklahoma City at No. 2, and there has been much speculation that Banchero would fall to the Rockets.
Wood averaged 50% shooting this season, including 39% from 3-point range. Dallas will be the 26-year-old’s seventh team in seven NBA seasons, after stints in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Detroit and Houston.
His breakout started in an eight-game stint with the Pelicans in 2018-19, averaging 16.9 ppg. He averaged 21.0 points with the Rockets last season, his first as a full-time starter, and appeared in a career-most 68 games with Houston this season.
Wood is entering the final season of a three-year, $41 million contract. He revealed to reporters in Houston last week that he had preliminary talks with the Rockets on an extension, though it isn’t known if one side balked or if it simply became clear that he wasn’t going to be in the team’s long-term plans.
Either way, now Dallas star Luka Doncic gets another talented option to surround himself with next season. Wood has become a much better 3-point shooter as his career goes along; his 131 makes from beyond the arc this season matched his total from the previous two seasons combined.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
