Among the major roster additions for the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon, veteran guard Rodney Hood was acquired in a three-team deal from the Utah Jazz.
The 25-year-old took to social media on Friday afternoon to voice his appreciation for the time he spent with the Jazz over the first 3 1/2 seasons of his career.
During that span in Utah, Hood developed into a dependable scorer that has shown to be an effective scorer both in the starting lineup and coming off the bench. He helped the team last season put together it’s first 50 win season since the 2009-10 campaign and first playoff appearance in five years.
Hood now has an opportunity to become a major contributor for the Cavaliers over the second half of this season. He is in the midst of a career-best year averaging a career-best 16.8 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting from the field and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. He has scored in double figures 33 times this year, which includes eight 20-point outings and three notching more than 30 points.
The bulk of that offensive production came as a reserve as his three 30-point outings have come off the bench, which made him the first Jazz players to have multiple 30+ scoring efforts off the bench in a single season since Thurl Bailey had four in the 1988-89 season.
His offensive prowess was likely a major reason why the Cavaliers pulled the trigger on the trade that sent Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder to the Jazz, and Iman Shumpert to the Sacramento Kings. It also helps that he is on relatively inexpensive contract as he’s in the final year of his four-year, $6.4 million rookie deal that does include a $3.4 million qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
Hood may have the chance to crack the starting lineup for the Cavaliers given the continued shooting struggles that J.R. Smith has had this season. Nonetheless, this could be his first real chance to compete for an NBA title as a major offensive contributor.