Christian Wood Gets His Shot With The Charlotte Hornets

After a strong sophomore season, Christian Wood left UNLV to declare for the 2015 NBA draft. He was projected by many mock drafts to get selected either late first or early-second round. However, Wood surprisingly ended up going undrafted. However, Wood was still able to find a home as signed a multi-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in late September. As a rookie, spent most of his time in their D-League system with the Delaware 87ers, but he was waived by Philadelphia in January. Later, he was signed by the 76ers again to a 10-day contract.

Wood played in 32 games for the 87ers and he averaged 17.3 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 1.1 BPG. He also played for the 76ers last season in 17 games last season where he averaged 3.6 PPG, and 2.2 RPG in 8.5 minutes per game. Wood never found a consistent role with the 76ers as he was either in the NBA or in the D-League, but after an impressive summer league, he has agreed to become a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

Wood had an impressive summer league in Utah for the 76ers, which obviously caught the eye of the Hornets. He averaged 15.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and he shot 34.1 percent from deep. Standing 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, Wood combines terrific athleticism with that solid perimeter stroke. Wood never got the chance to shine in Philadelphia last season and he has been playing with a chip on his shoulder ever since he went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft. The fit with Charlotte makes a whole lot of sense because the Hornets could use frontcourt help and rim-protection, which is what Wood can provide. Alongside that, Charlotte's recent change towards being a perimeter-minded team could really allow Wood to shine if given a chance. Wood still probably won't play a lot for the Hornets at first, but he should be able to get himself into the rotation at some point in the season.

The cool thing about Wood is that after going undrafted, he proved himself in the D-League, which ultimately led to the solid Summer League performance and subsequent signing from the Charlotte Hornets. That D-League stint was great for Wood because he got his chance to shine for the 87ers and to truly develop his game. He still has ways to go, but he's young and is heading to the Charlotte Hornets, a squad that could really use his help.

Overall

Wood is definitely worth taking a risk on as he's showing during Summer League. He can grab rebounds, score around the rim, and he can even step out and knockdown the deep ball. He might not play in the NBA to start the season, so don't be alarmed if you see him playing for the Greensboro Swarm in the D-League. It might be good for him to start the season in the D-League and then make his way up to the Hornets. With the Hornets, Wood would probably play in the 2nd unit where he'd line up alongside the likes of Frank Kaminsky, Cody Zeller, Jeremy Lamb and Marco Belinelli. That core is designated towards fast-paced and perimeter-oriented play which is right up Wood's alley.