3 Most underpaid Los Angeles Lakers players on next season's roster
2. Christian Wood
It's a tough sell after the way his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers played out, but it's important to remember that Christian Wood was a bargain signing in 2023. Injuries plagued his debut campaign with the Lakers, but his talent is still greater than his contract.
In 2024-25, Wood will make the veteran's minimum at $3,036,040—and assuming he plays anything like he's been able to at every other stop, he'll perform at a significantly higher level than in 2023-24.
A season before joining the Lakers, Wood finished in the top 10 in voting for Sixth Man of the Year for the second time in his career. He averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 offensive boards, 1.1 blocks, and 1.6 three-point field goals made on .515/.376/.772 shooting.
That almost identiaclly mirrored the averages he accumulated between 2019-20 and 2022-23: 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 offensive boards, 1.0 block, and 1.5 three-point field goals made.
In 2024-25, the Lakers would be an entirely different team if Wood can even come close to that level of production. Even if he doesn't, the fact that the Lakers can take that chance on him at the veteran's minimum is exclusively a product of how underpaid he was when they signed him in 2023.
Considering 2023-24 was the only real example of Wood's jump shot faltering, there's ample reason for optimism about his ability to turn things around.