Christian Wood reportedly exercises player option for 2024-25 season
Christian Wood will reportedly not test free agency this summer, choosing instead to exercise his player option to remain a Laker for the 2024-25 season.
The Lakers saw the first of many contract decisions reportedly made on Tuesday. Christian Wood, one of five Lakers to have player options for next season, will exercise his option for the 2024-25 season, as reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Wood played 50 games for the Lakers last year but was injured and sidelined for the second half of the season.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Christian Wood has exercised his $3 million player option for the 2024–25 season, league sources told @hoopshype. Wood appeared in 50 games for the Lakers and averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game. pic.twitter.com/QJZEJxcjld
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) May 7, 2024
Christian Wood became a Laker for the first time last season when he signed a two-year deal with a player option. The $3 million is a relatively low number, but given that Wood didn’t have anything other than veteran minimum offers on the table last summer and didn’t exactly put up gaudy numbers in the 2023-24 season, it seems he thought it best to opt in.
You can take a more optimistic approach and believe he really loves being with this organization and saw no reason to test the waters in free agency. Either way, he will return to the Lakers for the 2024-25 campaign.
Wood had some good moments as a Laker. He averaged 6.9 points and 5.9 rebounds and, at his best, provided quality minutes as a backup center and took some of the big man burden off Anthony Davis.
One of his most notable games was his 10-point, 11-rebound performance in the Lakers' victory against the Clippers.
The win was largely due to him being part of the Lakers' 3-big lineup with AD and Jaxson Hayes that sparked a 15-5 run and, ultimately, a win. After the game, Darvin Ham called the lineup a "great boost of energy".
Wood's return gives the Lakers a big who showed some flashes of quality but is not exactly a player they must retain to maintain continuity and succeed moving forward.
At such a low number, however, this move won't harm the Lakers much and gives them a respectable backup big they can keep in the regular season rotation.
There is plenty of work left for Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka to do to get some bigs who can help eat up some minutes and help Davis on the glass, but Wood's return is neutral progress and maybe even a slight positive for the team if he can reach the heights of his 2023-24 season again.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.