Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue will have one of the most difficult jobs in the NBA this year as he figures out a way to make up for losing LeBron James to free agency. While five-time All-Star Kevin Love will undoubtedly be the new face of their offense, Lue is hoping that Rodney Hood steps up and become the team’s second scoring option.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweeted out this interesting news for Cavaliers fans.
After being traded to the Cavs midway through last season, Hood found it difficult to crack a consistent roster spot, especially during the playoffs. The minutes’ issue heightened when Hood refused to play during ‘garbage time’ of the Cavaliers’ blowout win against the Toronto Raptors during last year’s playoffs.
Still, Hood was able to come to good terms with the Cavaliers front office as the 6-foot-8 swingman signed a one-year, $3.4 million deal with the team this offseason.
With James vacating both the leading playmaker and scorer roles, the team is banking on the likes of Love and Hood to lead the offense. Reports have been circulating that the team is not that keen on giving J.R. Smith more minutes, so Hood would be sharing backcourt minutes mostly with rookie Colin Sexton and five-year spitfire guard Jordan Clarkson.
But Hood has proven himself as a reliable two-way threat when he was still donning the Utah Jazz uniform. Forbes’ Evan Dammarell cited Hood’s case as an effective 3-and-D player.
“On paper, Hood is an NBA analytics dream in terms of both offense and defense. Offensively, Hood is a three-point dynamo, with a career average of 37% from three. On defense, he’s long and lanky and has shown flashes a competent perimeter defender.”
Despite the uncertainties, it will be fun to see the Cavaliers would thrive in a LeBron-less offense.
