Christian Wood suffers setback in rehab, will be re-evaluated in four weeks

The Lakers’ frontcourt will remain thin as Christian Wood suffered a setback in his injury rehab and will be out for at least four more weeks.

Any hope of the Lakers adding some depth to their frontcourt in the near future can be pretty safely dashed.

At practice on Tuesday, head coach JJ Redick revealed that Christian Wood had a setback during rehab and would be out at least four more weeks before being re-evaluated.

It’s a big blow for the Lakers, who have been walking a thin line with only two healthy bigs on the roster. While Christian Koloko is now available to provide them relief in emergency situations, it’s one more injury away from being a catastrophe.

As for Wood, he initially had surgery on this knee at the beginning of the year in March after being sidelined in mid-February. Despite being off the injury report at the end of the postseason, he never returned to the court.

Then, late in the summer, Wood had another surgery on the same knee with a reported timeline of being re-evaluated in eight weeks. That timeline came and passed before Tuesday’s update from Redick.

It puts the Lakers in a tough situation moving forward. A four-week timeline will take them right up to Dec. 15, when players who signed as free agents in the offseason can be traded. The Lakers can’t go on long-term with only two centers on the roster, so there’s a non-zero chance Wood may have already played his final game as a Laker.

It’s a rough situation for all involved. By the end of this injury, Wood will have gone over 10 months without playing an NBA game. But the Lakers need help at center and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Wood, who is on the most expensive of the veteran’s minimum contracts, is one of the players dealt.

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