Player Profile: Rodney Hood
The Cavaliers made a sneaky move today at the trade deadline in trading for Rodney Hood. The Cavs sent Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose to Utah while sending Iman Shumpert and the 2020 second-round Heat pick to the Kings in the three-team deal. The Kings sent George Hill to the Cavaliers as part of the deal.
The best part is Cleveland unloaded Crowder, who did not fit in with this team. He was supposed to be one of the leaders on defense and the city of Cleveland has had an APB on him since day one. By trading Derrick Rose, you open up a backcourt spot and you get rid of his drama, whether it is leaving in the midst of the season again or just being injured. Hood can bring athleticism, 3-point shooting and defense where the Cavs have lacked all season.
Hood has been one of the most underrated young players in the game of basketball. In his fourth season, he has career highs in points (16.8), Field goal percentage (42%), and 3-point field goal percentage (39%). Hood will do whatever it takes to win. He started the past two years, but he was taking on the sixth man role in Utah this season.
One of the most under appreciated things Hood brings is his length and size at the guard position. He can guard any position and he can handle the ball coming up the court. He primarily plays the two guard but with his size and length, I could see Hood playing small forward more often behind LeBron. There will be opportunities for Hood to get minutes with his defensive ability. Over his four year career, he has only 517 personal fouls called against him, which comes out to about 2.3 fouls per game.
You could see Clarkson, Korver, Hood, Green and James out on the court to create a small and athletic lineup to play small ball. With Hood’s versatility, Tyronn Lue will have many opportunities to figure out rotations for Hood.
Rodney Hood is in only 25 years old and is going to be a special player for the Cavaliers. His contract is team friendly. He is under control the rest of this year and next year before he becomes a restricted free agent in 2019. Hood will have his chance to prove himself and with LeBron there this season, his game will only grow.
The NBA Trade Deadline was one of the best the Cavaliers have had in a long time. Koby Altman changes up the path by making an older team become young again. So on behave of the city of Cleveland and the Cavalier fans, let’s make a warm welcome to new Cavalier, Rodney Hood.
