NBA Rumors: Prominent Lakers player may kill Christian Wood signing

The Los Angeles Lakers’ front office quickly went to work when NBA free agency began and built a roster that is good enough to win a championship. Los Angeles was able to bring back last season’s core but build on it to make it deeper and more talented.

The Lake Show now has 13 players on the roster with two more spots to utilize. One of those spots seems destined to go to a center, with Rob Pelinka admitting that the Lakers were active in the center market and were looking for someone with a different skill set than Jaxson Hayes.

This has sparked rumors around Christian Wood, who is the best big man remaining on the market (albeit coming with flaws). Wood has dominated the Lakers discourse over the last week-plus with many fans wondering why it is even taking so long to sign him.

Well, it might be taking so long because of internal feedback from players on the roster. According to Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, a prominent player on the Lakers roster has pushed back at the idea of the team bringing in Wood.

Someone on the Lakers is pushing back on the team signing Christian Wood.

Lane does not foreclose which prominent player on the Lakers is pushing back against Wood but let’s be real, there are only two prominent players whose opinion matters: Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

The only one of those two to play with Wood in the past is Davis, who spent time with Wood in New Orleans. Not only that, but AD would be playing next to Wood in the frontcourt, so he has a much more direct potential relationship with his former teammate.

Regardless of whether it is AD or LeBron, the fact that one of the two are pushing back on the idea is huge in foreshadowing what the Lakers might do. Pelinka’s entire job is to build a roster around his two stars that elevates them and makes them happy. He isn’t going to go out and sign someone who one of the two outright doesn’t want to play with.

And quite frankly, this is a good thing for the Lakers. Fans may look at Wood’s averages and see a solid player but that does not tell the entire story. It does not showcase his horrible defense, or the fact that he could be a massive locker-room distraction for a team trying to win a championship.