3 Lakers who need monster second halves to save their job

Christian Wood

A late-offseason addition, Christian Wood joined the Lakers on a two-year, $5.7 million deal during the first week of September. At the time, the signing was viewed as a huge win by many, and cemented the narrative of LA pulling off one of the best offseasons around the NBA. Wood's ability to be a floor-spacing big man had the potential to be a big help for the 2023-24 season.

But as some others like LakeShowLife's own Jason Reed foresaw, Wood was not always the best fit with the Lakers in actuality. There were a number of reasons why he was even available as late in the offseason as September, but arguably the biggest of which were questions about his viability in the locker room.

So far this season, Wood has done little to quell those concerns. In his career, Wood has not lasted more than two consecutive seasons with any NBA team. He is a physically gifted player with a lot of natural talent, but the intangibles are arguably what has held him back throughout his eight seasons in the league.

Wood was always a good signing in theory, but his drop in production this year has been telling. He is currently averaging 9.7 less points per game than he did in Dallas last season. For the Lakers to consider keeping him around next year, Wood will have to make some major changes to his approach.