Summary

I first saw Wood at the 2016 Summer League games in Salt Lake City, and it was clear he had potential. He protected the rim, was a lob threat on offense, and had some skill. While I was there to see Ben Simmons and Jaylen Brown, Wood certainly madee enough of an impact to stand out. He later bounced around the league, unable to stick on a roster partly, if not primarily, due to offcourt issues.

 

This past season, Wood earned himself a lot of money by having a breakout year. Wood seems to have matured, but I'm sure some teams will wonder how he will react after getting paid life-changing money. He's still a bit of a tweener between the power forward and center position.

 

On offense, Wood's ability to stretch the floor is much more valuable as a center. However, Wood may not be ready to anchor a defense at the center position. He's not the strongest interior player on either end, and can get bullied on the glass by stronger bigs.

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Cap Considerations

Wood will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.6 million cap hold and Early Bird rights. Since Wood's cap hold is only $1.6 million, the Pistons could keep his cap hold on the books, use their remaining cap space to sign free agents, and then bring Wood back using his Early Bird rights. If Wood is brought back using Early Bird rights rather than cap space, the Pistons will be limited to paying him a starting salary of up to 105% of the average salary this past season (roughly $10 million), which may not be enough based on the breakout year he had.

 

For other teams, Wood will probably demand a starting salary of more than the full $9.3 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, which means only teams with cap space will be able to sign him. If Wood and an over-the-cap team have mutual interest, sign-and-trade options can be explored.