The Portland Trail Blazers are making sure they have solid backups at the guard positions now that Damian Lillard is getting paid. They are bringing back Rodney Hood on a two-year contract worth $16 million.
Free agent F Rodney Hood has agreed to a two-year, $16M deal to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, CAA agents Ty Sullivan and Austin Brown tell ESPN. Deal includes a player option.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Rodney Hood joined the Blazers midway through last season after being traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 27 games with Portland, Hood averaged 9.6 points per game on 45.2% shooting. He shot slightly better in the playoffs and definitely proved he can be a solid role player for the team.
Of course, Lillard and C.J. McCollum will lead the way in scoring. Meanwhile, when healthy, Jusuf Nurkic is a great option. However, they need scoring off the bench, and that's where Hood comes in. He can cover multiple positions and is a solid shooter to complement his finishing skills.
This move makes a lot of sense for the Blazers. After signing Lillard to his new contract, they'll want to find cheap options. Hood is a good player who is now familiar with the team. He comes at a low enough price to justify the signing as well.
It wasn't long ago that Hood was considered an intriguing up-and-coming player. There's no reason to believe he couldn't catch some of that magic again. In fact, you could argue it's simply the minutes and usage that will prevent it from happening, not anything else.
With that in mind, Rodney Hood is a great insurance plan and a wonderful backup. The Portland Trail Blazers need to keep a good core around Lillard if they want to remain contenders in the West. Smart moves only – that's exactly what this was.
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