Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 2018 NBA Summer League
By Adam McGee
Christian Wood has earned his shot
When news emerged of Christian Wood’s addition to the Bucks’ Summer League entry, there was certainly plenty of cause for intrigue.
Wood was viewed as a player of high potential when he went undrafted out of UNLV, and has since put together an impressive résumé in the G League between brief stints in the NBA. At just 22, he was certainly worth consideration from the Bucks, yet that sense has only increased based on his performances from Las Vegas.
Playing an average of 27.4 minutes per game across all five of Milwaukee’s match-ups in Summer League, Wood contributed 20.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game, while shooting 55.4 percent from the field.
Not only did those contributions make Wood stand out on a roster that included three recent draft picks, but it put him among the very best performers in Summer League.
According to Matt Velzaquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, multiple teams are interested in Wood’s services, which is by no means surprising.
To the surprise of no one who watched the Bucks in summer league, several teams are very interested in Christian Wood. In five games he averaged 20.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks over 27.1 minutes per contest while shooting 55.4% from the field & 30.8% on 3's.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) July 15, 2018
At present, it would seem unlikely there’s a spot for him with the Bucks unless he’s willing to sign a two-way contract, but either waiving or trading Tyler Zeller could open up room for Wood to be a worthwhile gamble. Unfortunately, all signs point to that not being in play.
I hear there are multiple teams interested in Christian Wood & a deal may not be far off. However, Milwaukee is not one of those teams. Will be interesting to see who signs him/what he gets.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) July 17, 2018
Note: Since they're over the cap, Bucks can only offer minimum deal or portion of MLE. https://t.co/rexrjDeV6N
Even if it’s not in Milwaukee, it would be difficult to imagine Wood not being able to find a home with an NBA team next season based on his starring play in Vegas.