Rodney Hood Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Westbrook, Hood, Nelson

October 22nd, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by clarkcrum

In a conversation with The New York Times’ Marc Stein, Carmelo Anthony explained that his decision not to waive his no-trade clause for the Trail Blazers was rooted in logistics, not basketball, reports John Canzano of The The Oregonian/OregonLive.

“We had a fair bit of discussion about Portland…,” Stein said of his talk with Anthony. “… He did say that it meant a lot to him how badly those guys wanted him. I think it really was the distance (that caused him to not be interested). I don’t think it was about Portland, the place… I don’t think it was about Portland, I think it was about family… presumably his wife and son are going to stay in New York for the bulk of the year. He was in constant contact with (Damian) Lillard and (C.J.) McCollum.”

Here’s more news from the Northwest:

The Thunder’s Russell Westbrook scored only six points on 2-of-11 shooting to go along with seven turnovers in Saturday night’s 96-87 loss to the Utah Jazz. As reported by ESPN’s Royce Young, Westbrook appears to still be adjusting and adapting to the acquisitions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony; however, Westbrook insists that this season is no different than any other. “It’s the same thing [as last season],” Westbrook said. “Basketball’s been the same for years. It’s still the same game. Obviously different players, but the game still tells you what to do. If you need to score, you score, if not, you don’t. It’s very simple.”
Despite not playing Saturday night against Oklahoma City as the result of a calf injury, Rodney Hood of the Jazz is primed to make his return to the court sooner than originally feared, as reported by Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Despite the initial concern after Hood had to be helped off the court by teammates, Jazz coach Quin Snyder was apparently never too worried. “I’ve kind of conditioned myself to not jump to conclusions about those things one way or the other,” Snyder said when asked about being relieved the injury wasn’t worse. “Sometimes when they don’t look as bad, you kind of feel like, ‘Oh, it’s not that bad,’ and then it ends up to be worse.”
Jameer Nelson tweeted out a thank you to the City of Denver and the Nuggets early Friday morning after being released by the team on Wednesday. The Nuggets would have been on the hook for the entirety of Nelson’s $4.74MM salary if he had remained on the free agent market. However, as noted by Bobby Marks of ESPN, Denver will have the right to set-off approximately $470K at season’s end as a result of Nelson signing a pro-rated minimum salary contract with the Pelicans on Saturday.

Northwest Notes: Hood, Wolves, Connaughton

October 19th, 2017 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Prior to Monday’s extension deadline, Rodney Hood‘s camp “worked hard” on getting something done, but couldn’t find common ground with the Jazz, says Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Kyler adds that Utah figures to match any offer for Hood next summer, if he stays healthy in 2017/18.

Although Hood struggled in his first game this season, putting up just six points and two rebounds in 18 minutes as he battled a stomach bug, he’s expected to play a significant role for the Jazz this season in the wake of Gordon Hayward‘s departure. A breakout season for Hood could make him an interesting restricted free agent next July.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

In an extensive and in-depth piece for ESPN.com, Tom Haberstroh takes a closer look at the job Tom Thibodeau is doing in Minnesota as the Timberwolves‘ head coach and president of basketball operations, exploring whether the club is ready to take a leap forward and whether there’s any risk of Thibodeau overworking his key players.
Appearing on Altitude AM950 in Denver, Nuggets guard Gary Harris discussed his contract extension, his role for the coming season, and the team’s offseason addition of Paul Millsap.
The Trail Blazers had a chance to avoid guaranteeing Pat Connaughton‘s salary for the coming season if they’d waived him over the summer, but Portland decided to keep him around, and that decision looked good on opening night, writes Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com.

Jazz Unlikely To Sign Rodney Hood To Extension

October 15th, 2017 at 5:34pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz aren’t likely to signing guard Rodney Hood to a contract extension ahead of Monday’s deadline, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune writes. The swingman, expected to shoulder more of Utah’s scoring load, will thus hit restricted free agency next summer.

While Hood will get the 2017/18 campaign to help Jazz fans forget about Gordon Hayward, he’ll also be able to use a successful season to boost his stock on the open market next offseason. The starting guard will get plenty of touches considering that the franchise will need to replace Hayward’s 21.9 points per game.

Per Jones, the Jazz do have faith in their 24-year-old two guard, they’d just like to see him stay healthy and more consistent on offense. In two of his three seasons thus far, Hood has missed at least 23 games.

If Hood can play 70-plus games in 2017/18 and show that he’s more than just an intriguingly lengthy physical specimen, his size and ability to knock down triples (1.9 threes per game at a .371 rate last season) should earn him plenty of suitors next summer.

When that day comes, the Jazz – with only $83MM committed at a time when few teams will have abundant cap space – will be forced to dig deep into the piggy bank to retain his services lest they lose an offensive focal point for the second time in two summers.

Western Notes: Leonard, Exum, Hood, Nurkic

October 14th, 2017 at 3:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kawhi Leonard won’t be ready when the season opens because of a lingering quad injury, relays the Associated Press. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich confirmed the news to reporters Friday night, saying the team will be cautious with its star forward, who didn’t play in any preseason games or participate in camp. ”He’s still rehabbing and when he’s ready, he’ll be ready,’‘ Popovich said.

Leonard is in a rehab program for quadriceps tendinopathy, and Popovich admitted last month that recovery is taking longer than anticipated. Leonard began experiencing the condition last season, and it is not related to an ankle injury in the Western Conference finals that knocked him out of the playoffs.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

Leonard, who finished third in the MVP voting last season, is this year’s favorite for the award, according to Tom Haberstroh and Titus Smith of ESPN. The writers examine the criteria used in MVP balloting and believe Leonard has the strongest case. He averaged a career-best 25.5 points per game last year while helping the Spurs win 61 games.
Jazz guard Dante Exum is exploring alternatives to season-ending surgery on his left shoulder, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Exum suffered a separated shoulder with ligament damage in a preseason game last week. The fifth pick in the 2014 draft already missed the 2015/16 season with a torn ACL. Exum has a Monday deadline to work out an extension with Utah or he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
Also facing a Monday extension deadline is Rodney Hood, who anticipates a larger role in the Jazz offense this season, relays Jody Gennessy of The Deseret News. The fourth-year shooting guard believes Utah, which went unbeaten in the preseason, will be able to replace the contributions of free agent losses Gordon Hayward and George Hill. “It won’t necessarily be easy, but it will be easier than people think because we’ve got guys who can pass the ball and play without the ball,” Hood said.
The Trail Blazers won’t work out an extension with center Jusuf Nurkic before Monday, but that doesn’t mean his future won’t be in Portland, according to Mike Richman of The Oregonian. The Blazers traded for Nurkic in February, and the organization would prefer to watch him for a full season before committing to a long-term contract. Nurkic helped propel the team into the playoffs after being acquired from Denver and makes no secret of his affection for Portland. “I love this team,” Nurkic said Friday. “I love this city. I love these teammates. I enjoy it here.”

Northwest Notes: Hood, Thunder, Patterson, Blazers

September 12th, 2017 at 7:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Rodney Hood‘s offseason began with a “frank” exit meeting the day after the Jazz were eliminated from the playoffs, as general manager Dennis Lindsey challenged the fourth-year shooting guard to become more efficient and more consistent — and to prepare for a larger role. As Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune details, Hood has responded to that directive by staying in Utah for the summer and working harder than ever to get ready for the 2017/18 season.

“There were a lot of challenges we gave Rodney,” the Jazz GM said. “What he needs to be doing, his commitment level to his development. And he’s responded this summer. He’s going to be given a prominent role, and his development will be significant to us.”

With Gordon Hayward having left the Jazz for Boston, Hood will be required to take on a greater share of the scoring load in Utah, and as Lindsey suggests, the team’s success figures to hinge in part on how Hood responds to that increased responsibility.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Russell Westbrook won’t have to shoulder so much of the burden for the Thunder this season with Paul George in the mix, according to Shaun Powell of NBA.com, who believes that Westbrook will look to accommodate his new All-Star teammate as much as possible. Speaking of George, Brett Dawson went into detail on the veteran forward’s intense offseason conditioning regimen in an interesting piece for The Oklahoman.
Speaking to Nick Gallo of NBA.com, Patrick Patterson talked about why he chose the Thunder in free agency this offseason and how he envisions his role with the franchise. As Patterson notes, heading to Oklahoma City will give him the opportunity to re-connect with Billy Donovan, who attempted to recruit him out of high school.
With training camp fast approaching, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian is taking a player-by-player look at the Trail Blazers‘ roster. So far this week, he has examined Jusuf Nurkic, who is extension-eligible this offseason, and discussed Evan Turner, who will look to bounce back from a poor 2016/17 as he enters the second season of a lucrative four-year contract.

Jazz, Rodney Hood Begin Discussing Extension

September 1st, 2017 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz and Rodney Hood have opened negotiations on a possible contract extension for the fourth-year shooting guard, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. According to Jones, the two sides have only had preliminary conversations so far, but another meeting is expected to take place within the next few weeks.

Hood and teammate Dante Exum are two of 21 players entering the final year of their respective rookie contracts who are eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. Although there’s some internal hope within the organization that Exum is on the verge of a breakout, the Jazz are expected to let him play out his final year and enter restricted free agency, says Jones.

However, the Jazz are interested in getting something done with Hood before the 2017/18 regular season begins, and as we heard earlier this week, Hood and his camp are “very open” to that idea. The Duke alum, who will turn 25 next month, has started 155 games during his first three NBA seasons, but will be poised to take on an even larger role in Utah with Gordon Hayward gone.

Sources tell Jones that Hood has been in Salt Lake City for most of the summer working closely with Utah’s coaching staff, and the Jazz are confident that Hood can make a significant leap forward in 2017/18. Still, there have been questions in the past about Hood’s consistency and durability, so it will be interesting to see if the two sides can find a price point that everyone likes.

In 2016/17, Hood averaged 12.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG with a shooting line of .408/.371/.783 in 59 regular season contests (27.0 MPG). He struggled in the postseason, scoring just 8.9 PPG with a .352/.260/.611 shooting line.

Kyler’s Latest: Parker, Embiid, A. Gordon, Hood

August 30th, 2017 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

Andrew Wiggins‘ case for a contract extension has received most of the attention so far this summer, but Wiggins is just one of 21 players heading into the final year of their respective rookie contracts who are eligible for rookie scale extensions this offseason.

In his latest piece for Basketball Insiders, Steve Kyler takes a closer look at several of those extension-eligible players, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

There’s a sense that the Bucks are open to getting something done this offseason with Jabari Parker, since they’re confident he’ll make a full recovery from his latest ACL tear, sources tell Kyler. However, Milwaukee would almost certainly ask Parker to accept a team-friendly rate, so he’s more likely to play out his final year and seek out a new deal next summer as a restricted free agent.
There’s a “growing sense” that the Sixers will extend Joel Embiid, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll accept an offer worth less than the max, writes Kyler. A deal structured like Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s four-year, $100MM extension might make sense if Embiid doesn’t want to push hard for a max contract.
With a new management team in place in Orlando, the Magic are expected to take a wait-and-see approach to a new deal for Aaron Gordon, unless he’s willing to sign at a discounted rate for the sake of long-term security, says Kyler.
If the Celtics lock up Marcus Smart to a long-term deal, it’s more likely to happen in 2018 than this offseason, per Kyler.
With the Lakers looking to maximize their 2018 cap room, Julius Randle has a better chance to be traded at some point before February’s deadline than he does to be extended before the season, according to Kyler.
Sources tell Kyler that Rodney Hood and his camp are “very open” to negotiating an extension with the Jazz. The Basketball Insiders scribe estimates that something in the Evan Turner range (four years, $70MM) might be an appropriate price point for Hood.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, George, Hood, Murray

August 15th, 2017 at 9:42pm CST by marksuleymanov

Russell Westbrook and Paul George will be teammates for the first time in the NBA this upcoming season after George was traded to the Thunder earlier this offseason. Just like any other superstar duo in NBA history, it will take time for both players to get acclimated to each other on and off the court. The duo got a head start after having their first workout together on Monday at a UCLA gym with four Oklahoma City teammates, ESPN’s Royce Young writes.

Young noted that Monday’s workout was the second organized by Westbrook this summer but George was unable to attend the first one due to a pre-planned vacation. Monday’s acclimation was the first of many steps for the reigning MVP and George to become comfortable; George addressed the importance of establishing a chemistry with his new teammates during his introductory press conference.

“Right now, it’s taking it as it comes,” George said (via ESPN). “We have a fresh start, and a chance to do something special is really the first thing that comes to mind. I’m not looking past 2017-18, we haven’t accomplished nothing yet. When it comes to that, when I get there, we’ll address that, but right now me and [Westbrook] have something to build now, and we’ll see where it takes us. It could be something that’s special that we build and want to continue on building.”

Read up on other news around the Northwest Division:

Roster turnover in Utah has left the future of the Jazz in flux and that includes 24-year-old Rodney Hood, Benjamin Mehic of The Deseret News writes. The departure of Gordon Hayward has left a major void, which Hood, a player the Jazz believe can be a scoring weapon, could fill seamlessly. However, a poor season could end Hood’s run in Utah as the team prepares for the future.
In a Q&A with Donnovan Bennett of Sportsnet, Canada native Jamal Murray answered a series of questions pertaining to undergoing surgery on his core muscles, his recent travels, and his expectations for the Nuggets during the 2017/18 season.
In a lengthy feature, James Blancarte of Basketball Insiders recaps the Timberwolves‘ active offseason, which included a major trade (Jimmy Butler) and free agency signings (Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford). With a strong core that already includes Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, the team is poised for a strong season.

Northwest Notes: Hood, Kanter, Blazers

June 9th, 2017 at 4:51pm CST by Austin Kent

When Gordon Hayward hits free agency next month he’s expected to generate considerable interest. While the Jazz are intent on retaining the All-Star, Benjamin Mehic of the Deseret News suggests that Rodney Hood could be a possible, in-house replacement.

Mehic argues that Hood’s career thus far has followed a similar trajectory to that of Hayward’s, with the former facing similar critiques to what Hayward faced early in his own career.

Although, like Hayward, Hood will look to add bulk to finish stronger around the rim, he could potentially surpass Hayward on the defensive side of the ball. Mehic cites Hood’s 6’9″ wingspan as one of his best attributes heading forward.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

In an update to a story we discussed earlier this week, Enes Kanter‘s father has been released from a Turkish prison, Erik Horne of the Oklahoman relays. On June 2, the Thunder big man announced that his family’s Istanbul home was raided by local authorities and that his father was arrested.
The Timberwolves worked out Jarrett Allen on Wednesday and the Texas forward profiles as a good fit for the organization, Jerry Zgoda of the StarTribune writes. Allen has been projected in the 10th-20th range, below Minnesota’s current No. 7 overall selection, but the team could always trade down.
The Trail Blazers have been busy auditioning potential draft picks this week, bringing in players like Harry Giles and Donovan Mitchell on Thursday (Joe Freeman of the Oregonian tweets) and then several more on Friday including Tyler Lydon and Isaiah Briscoe (per Casey Holdahl of Portland’s official site)

Northwest Notes: Aldrich, Westbrook, Plumlee, Hood

February 12th, 2017 at 6:17pm CST by Milo Taibi

Cole Aldrich, who signed a three-year, $22MM deal with the Wolves over the summer, was brought in to be a veteran mentor to the younger guys on the team and he’s enjoying his role, as he tells Michael Rand of The StarTribune. “Well, with [Jordan Hill], myself, [Brandon Rush] and we had John Lucas earlier in the year, it’s fun to have those guys and the young guys,” Aldrich said. “The teams we were on last year, we were all on older teams, playoff teams. Being able to bring our experience from those teams to a younger group of guys has been a lot of fun.”