New detail of abysmal Christian Wood trade has been finalized by latest draft pick

With the No. 17 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves just selected French big man Joan Beringer, but the selection originally belonged to the Detroit Pistons and, at one point, passed through the hands of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets landed the selection in the Christian Wood trade.

Wood and the first-round pick were traded to the Rockets in exchange for Trevor Ariza, the draft rights to Isaiah Stewart, and a 2027 second-round pick. Stewart has panned out very well for the Pistons, but the same cannot be said for Wood and the Rockets, as that tandem didn’t end up working out.

Houston didn’t even make a pick with the first they traded for—they shipped it off to the Oklahoma City Thunder (but that worked out just fine).

How did No. 17 pick end up with Timberwolves?

First and foremost, the Pistons’ first-round pick wasn’t a straight-up 2025 selection. It was originally a first in the 2021-22 season, but it was top-16 protected. From there, it was top-18 protected in 2023-24, top-13 protected in 2025, top-11 protected in 2026, and top-nine protected in 2027, or else it would have turned into a 2027 second-round pick

The Rockets initially traded for the pick in the aforementioned Wood trade, but it quickly changed hands when they had the chance to trade for a Turkish big man in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Houston traded the Pistons’ first-rounder in the deal that landed them the right to select Alperen Sengun, which has since worked out beautifully for the Rockets. Sengun made his first All-Star Game this season and is a cornerstone of the franchise.

The first-rounder didn’t stop moving there, though. OKC traded the first in a deal with the New York Knicks, as they moved up in the first round to select Ousmane Dieng.

After that, the Knicks included the first in the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns, as it finally ended up in its final home of Minnesota.

How was Christian Wood era for Rockets?

Wood didn’t end up helping the Rockets win a ton of games. He acted more as a tank commander than anything else. His counting stats were solid, but it never translated to anything for Houston. In the two years Wood was in Houston, the Rockets won a total of 37 games combined.

Eventually, they moved on from Wood, entering a new, improved era of Rockets basketball. Since then, Wood has played for the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, but much like the Rockets, those teams weren’t amazing with Wood on the roster.

In fact, up to this point in his career, Wood has yet to play in a playoff game.