Why the Houston Rockets need to trade Christian Wood

Houston Rockets: Why trading Wood sooner is better

Wood’s sky-high trade value is tied up in his contract. He’s an immensely valuable player at around $13 million a season, but most of that value will be eaten up if he’s making over $30 million a season.

Fortunately for the Rockets, he still has two more years after this season on his deal, and moving him this offseason could land the Rockets an immense haul for a team trying to gear up for a title run or a franchise trying to finally break into the playoff picture.

A team like the Charlotte Hornets or Boston Celtics who both need a center and have ample draft assets could make a perfect trade partner for the Rockets. There are few teams that couldn’t use Wood’s on-court production and even fewer that couldn’t figure out a way to squeeze him into their cap sheet.

Another reason the Rockets should aggressively shop Wood is that he alone won’t make them a playoff team. The reality is, the Rockets won’t be competitive until Wood is much more expensive. Once he’s on a max deal, he’s merely a fairly compensated player and not a gold mine of surplus value.

The Rockets 2020-21 season has been awful on so many levels but their acquisition of Wood was one of the best moves of the season. They should read the tea leaves and let one of their few good decisions become a bunch of good decisions by the time they’re ready to compete.

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