A wider grip (even an extra wide grip) can give the advantage of a different angle to stretching the lat's. Proper stretches do seem to have a influence of adding to the development of the lat's. Something akin to a straight/bent arm pullover stretch that affect the lat's very well. In this vein, also think of the stretch used in building calf's. Most forms of lat stretching can bring out the lat's very well. After a set of any back exercise some BB'ers will grab a solid piece of equipment, bend at the waist, and just stretch out the lats, one side at a time. They swear by this to help bring out the lat's.
Some may feel undo pressure on the joints with a wider grip, but that is usually because the shoulder girdle is too tight to begin with. The more a wide grip is used, the more the shoulder area becomes flexible, without any discomfort.There should be very little stress on the joints after awhile. One of the better ways to get upper body flexibility is to just hang from an overhead bar, from extra close to extra wide for 30 seconds of more. And as we all know, the secret to any stretching is to relax as it is being done.
Some folks have a narrow frame (or different muscle inserts) to begin with, so the ability to get those broad barn door lat's (muscle mag talk) will never happen. Though they can make the most of their potential with lat/back muscle depth/thickness. A mid to close curl or hammer grip seems to give the better muscle influence . That wider grip can also help with development, through the above mentioned wide stretch. Always room in any back program for extra wide to medium grip back exercises. Including DL/s and Bb rows. Good Luck.
Side Bar: one of the better chinning exercises, for me anyway, is the chin behind the neck (weight added). Touching the nap of the neck each rep.
