Chrіѕtіan Wood to undergo аrthroѕcopic knee ѕurgery

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images 

The Lakers have, yet again this season, been dealt another injury blow at maybe the most inopportune time yet. After being out since Feb. 14 with a knee injury, Wood will now undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

This one is particularly annoying because it’s going to push up against the end of the season before Wood returns, if he’s even able to get back before the postseason. And with him out, the Lakers are very thin at the center position.

Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes are the only bigs on the roster, and when one of them exits with an injury, like AD did against the Warriors, the Lakers have no other options. The Lakers failed to address this problem at the trade deadline or in the buyout market.

Even at the time, it was a bit of a head-scratcher that the Lakers opted for a guard in the buyout market and not a big man. It hasn’t helped, either, that the player they signed in Spencer Dinwiddie has struggled mightily.

While you can’t predict injuries and the future, you can mitigate risks and the Lakers did not do that in this one, rolled the dice and missed out.

The team doesn’t have an open roster spot to sign a big man currently on the market for them to be playoff-eligible. Given all the injuries they’ve had to endure this season as well, they don’t really have the ability to waive a player and sign someone either.

Even the recent news that the likes of Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish are all trending in the right direction doesn’t really help unless one or any of them grew 6-8 inches in their time out injured.

It’s not a given Wood will be out for the remainder of the season. But he’s going to be out for the most important part of the season, which is a big problem that the Lakers are going to be forced to navigate now. And, once again, the Lakers are going to head into those important games with little center depth.

All in all, it’s a pretty bad situation.