As was long expected, the Utah Jazz dealt Rodney Hood ahead of the NBA trade deadline. In return, Jae Crowder comes to Utah from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On the morning of the NBA’s deadline for completing trades, one thing seemed clear for the Utah Jazz. Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson had played their last games in a Jazz uniform. It was just a matter of where they were going and who Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey would bring back in their place.
Now, after weeks of trade chatter, we have our answer.
In a deal first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Utah has shipped out Hood and Johnson as part of a three-team trade involving the Celeveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings. Hood will join LeBron James and the Cavs, who are sending the Jazz a player they coveted previously. Namely, forward Jae Crowder.
Utah has traded Rodney Hood to Cleveland, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
The Jazz will also receive former MVP Derrick Rose from Cleveland. Meanwhile, Iso Joe is on the move the Sacramento. However, both players are on the verge of being bought out or waived by their new teams.
To complete the deal, former Jazzman George Hill was sent to the Cavs and Iman Shumpert will reportedly join the Kings. There are mixed reports on other pieces potentially involved in the trade. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst sums it up as follows —
Trade clean up: Cavs sent Kings $2.1M in cash, Jazz sent Kings $1.1M cash & Cavs agreed to second-round swap rights with Utah in 2024. Cavs also got rights to Arturas Gudaitis from Sac & traded rights to Dimitrios Agravanis.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) February 8, 2018
The Jazz also created multiple trade exceptions by taking back more salary than they dealt. We’ll update you on those and the final terms of the deal once it becomes official.
We do know two things for sure, however — Crowder is the newest member of the Utah Jazz and Hood gets the fresh start he’s been seeking.
Per reports, the Jazz previously tried to acquire Crowder, 27, from the Boston Celtics via sign-and-trade when Gordon Hayward made the decision to bolt for Beantown. Last week, I identified him as a Jazz trade target with the following appraisal —
"A natural fit in Utah; a mobile three/four tweener who plays with energy on both ends of the floor and can stretch the D a little too. His 14-6 and 40 percent from three stat line in 2016-17 was tantalizing. Crowder seemed like a fine complement to the Stifle Tower."
More from The J-Notes
- With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
- Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
- Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
- 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
- Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone
At this juncture, I would add that he comes on one of the most team-friendly deals in the Association. Crowder is set to earn $7.3 million next season and $7.8 million the following year.
In 53 games with the Cavs this season, he averaged eight points and three rebounds per game.
Crowder’s father, Corey, played briefly for the Jazz in the early ’90s.
As for Hood, he’s in the midst of a career season, averaging 17 points per game and shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. Look for him to be a key cog for the Cavs going forward, be it in support of a potential NBA Finals run or as a building block in the event the LeBron leaves the team during the offseason.
Related Story: Jazz give Jae Crowder a pair of his dad's old kicks
Hood is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. Cleveland maintains team control in the process with the right to match any offer sheet he signs.