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Utah Jazz: Should the Jazz look to re-acquire Rodney Hood?

By Josh Padmore

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 01: Rodney Hood #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers has the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on April 1, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 01: Rodney Hood #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers has the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on April 1, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The off-season has officially begun for the Utah Jazz. That being said, there’s many interesting free agent options out there for the Jazz – including former sixth man Rodney Hood.

Looking back, I might have been a bit harsh on Rodney Hood during the 2017-18 season. I was really hoping the Utah Jazz would trade him – which they did. I thought he had a bit of an attitude, which he put on display when he sent a Wizards fan’s phone flying prior to being ejected from the game.

Hood was even booed at a home game during that season, when he started the game making one of his first seven shots from the field. After the game, Hood was not happy and basically said the fans have given up on him.

Well, I’ve got to hand it to Rodney Hood. He was actually playing some of his best ball with the Jazz prior to that trade that landed Jae Crowder in Salt Lake City. Hood averaged about 17 points per game with the Jazz during the 2017-2018 season. He also was having his best shooting year as an NBA player – he shot 42.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from deep.

I guess it was just Hood’s attitude in the midst of what was looking like a lottery year that had me so frustrated.

Sure, Hood doesn’t do much besides score. But did you watch the five games the Jazz just played against the Houston Rockets in the playoffs? Open look after open look, clank after clank. The Jazz couldn’t knock down their open shots and it was their own demise.

Hood may be streaky, but one thing about him is that he’s a very consistent 3-point shooter. As a player, he’s inconsistent. But from purely a 3-point shooting perspective, he’s impressively consistent. Hood hasn’t shot below 35 percent from three since entering the league. He’s always giving you a 3-point percentage in the mid-to-high-thirties, and he’s typically giving you 100+ made threes on the season.

I think Hood will be looking at an annual salary anywhere from $5-8 million. That’s a reasonable price. I’m not suggesting he should start – although they could start him alongside Donovan Mitchell if they miss out on all of their free agent targets. Preferably, re-acquiring Hood would be to have him as your sixth man.

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Trading Hood was a tough decision made by Dennis Lindsey. After the trade was complete, Lindsey said Hood will always have a special place in the Jazz’s heart. He also said he hoped to see Hood make a game-winner on ABC, as a member of the finals-bound Cleveland Cavaliers. There’s clearly no hard feelings between the two sides.

Free agency is the last thing on Hood’s mind right now, as he’s currently in a playoff run with the Portland Trail Blazers. Soon enough, though, he could be thinking about moving back to Utah.

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