The fanfare surrounding the Dwight Howard signing was unprecedented.
Never before had the Rockets signed such a notable and accomplished free agent.
There was an outdoor celebration with more than 10,000 fans on hand to welcome him to town in 2013.
Rockets greats Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, Yao Ming and Ralph Sampson, were at the rally, which was front-page news. I’m talking Section A, Page 1.
Christian Wood received none of this.
Howard’s free agency recruitment was an over-the-top exercise because he was deemed to be the “missing piece.”
Whether you’re journalistic, pessimistic or analytic, you know Wood isn’t the piece the Rockets were missing. This team will not win an NBA title this season.
But Wood is a piece they need.
Don’t be surprised if a few years from now, the lean power forward ranks among the Rockets’ best all-time pickups.
Wood has that coveted combination of talent and hunger that so often leads to greatness.
The talent has been there since he grew into his own as a teenager. A 6-10 athlete with long arms, bouncy legs and shooting ability.
The hunger has been fed, so to speak, by denial and disappointment; a driving force that gives Wood a motivational edge.
After going undrafted in 2015, Wood knocked on the NBA door for years, beat on it even, going from team to team before finally kicking the you-know-what in last season with the Pistons. Five teams, no more than 21 games in any year and one season not even making a team.
The draft-night snub still grates.
“I want to make everybody pay,” Wood said. “All those GMs and scouts who didn’t draft me or had something (negative) to say about me during that process ... I feel like I’m out here to prove everyone wrong.
“I still, to this day, have this chip on my shoulder and I try to show it every time I play.”
Wood dropped 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a mere 24 minutes in his preseason debut with the Rockets on Thursday, in a game he described as nerve-wracking because he hadn’t played in an NBA game since COVID-19 shut down the sport March.
As fun as his first performance in the Rockets’ uniform turned out to be, Wood’s best memory of a dominant game was the first time he racked up 50 points in a game.
Yeah, the first time. He’s that good.
It was in high school at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, where he played two seasons, including one with Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2013.
Wood says he missed only two shots that night.
Even if he is off by a shot or two, that is incredible.
Wood’s dreams of dominant play like that extends to the NBA.
All of his NBA highs came earlier in this year, but he believes the 36 points he tallied against the 76ers in March is a flash of what he believes he can do.
“One thing about me, I’ve always carried myself with confidence,” Wood said. “I’ve always believed in myself. I’ve had lows, I’ve had highs. I’ve always picked myself up through that.
“I’ve always walked around with my chip on the shoulder. I’m gonna attack every time I get a chance to.”
The wooing of Wood was a standard offseason signing, which for contractual reasons turned into a trade.
The Rockets thought Dwight Howard was on the rise, and signed him to a four-year, $88-million deal.
Wood, whose life-changing contract is half that, is 25 years old and definitely trending upward.
“Honestly I don’t think I have even reached 50 percent of my potential for what I can really do,” he said.
The Rockets are betting on that potential.
In the next three years, Wood will make $41 million, some 10 times what he earned in the previous four seasons.
Wood says the numbers do stand out, but that he has not given much thought to his drastically improved financial situation.
“I’m focused on straight basketball,” he said. “I have a lot to prove. I want to be a star in this league.”
A star is about to be born in Houston.
The parade will come later.
jerome.solomon@chron.com
twitter.com/jeromesolomon
"wood" - Google News
December 20, 2020 at 06:00AM
https://ift.tt/3au8j38
Solomon: Christian Wood a star in the making for Rockets - Houston Chronicle
"wood" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3du6D7I
No comments:
Post a Comment