Utah Jazz: Grading the big Rodney Hood-Jae Crowder trade
By Ryan Aston
Jae Crowder has joined the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal for Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson. How did everyone do for themselves in the big trade?
The NBA trade deadline has come and gone and the make-up of the Utah Jazz roster is changed as a result. Gone are high-scoring wing Rodney Hood and playoff hero Joe Johnson. In their place, the Jazz band brings in Jae Crowder via the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On Sunday night, Crowder will suit up for the Jazz for the first time when the team takes on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Not only will Utah have the chance to notch its ninth-straight victory, but a win at the Moda Center will put the Jazz at .500 for the season.
Those are monumental feats, especially given the injury-plagued nature of the season for the Jazz. But will Crowder ultimately aid in the team’s postseason aspirations or will the Jazz rue the day they parted with Hood?
And what of the Cavs, who acquired both Hood and former Jazzman George Hill in the deal — or the Sacramento Kings, who took on Joe Johnson’s contract?
Those are the questions I aim to answer here with a breakdown of the big trade from all angles. In the end, we may not know who really won the deal for some time. In the short-term, though, I’ve got subject-to-change trade grades for all parties.
Strap in…
Next: Cavs get Rodney Hood, George Hill