Orlando Magic: Rodney Hood The Way To Go?
By Luke Duffy
It was reported in multiple media outlets a couple of days ago that the Orlando Magic would be bringing in some players to take part in an NBA draft workout on Memorial Day.
All well and good, every team does this in one form or another. Some names were tossed about as players who would be taking part, with the most notable being guard Marcus Smart.
If Smart does end up a Magic player it would be a shock to many; most people see Orlando going big with that fourth pick that they have in the upcoming draft.
Which brings us to the quite interesting prospect of the 12th pick this team also has. If by some ridiculous chain of events Smart slid that far (he won’t, ever…) then his talent and upside would make him a no-brainer. Orlando has many needs, too many in fact to become a challenger overnight. But the one real elephant in the room is offense, and that is why the 12th pick absolutely must go on a player who can score.
This is supposedly such a good draft class that no matter what players are mentioned, fans will cry out for different and equally talented players to be picked instead. But let’s try and make a case for Duke’s Rodney Hood here. Last year Arron Afflalo was the Magic’s main scoring threat. A lot of the time, he was their only offensive weapon.
Outright scoring has never been his game, he is a really solid two-way player, but he took that responsibility and had a career year in most statistical categories, including points per game. If he is still a Magic player next year, allowing the offense to not just run through him would actually make him a better player, that scoring burden can weigh people down.
Enter Rodney Hood.
Yes, taking him with the 12th pick would be a stretch, as most experts project him as a player who could go late in the lottery or even fall all the way to the early 20s. But what he does bring is a lot of traits and abilities this team so badly needs.
Hood will likely never be a star, but he could be the perfect compliment for this team, a silent assassin. In no way are we going to compare him to Ray Allen, but some small similarities exist between the two. Hood played with far more illustrious and talked about teammates in college, yet he still scored 16.1 points a game. A pretty neat number, when you see that he was by no means the main man on this team.
Nailing 42 percent of his 3-point shots as well is another big plus, and from what we saw of him in college, it didn’t look like he had a particular sweet spot either. Hood seemed to pop up from beyond the arc in various spots and knock down his shot. What this does for whatever team Hood lands on is space the floor, something Orlando in particular desperately needs.
That would allow the athletic Victor Oladipo to drive to the hoop with less bodies to fight through. It would also allow center Nikola Vucevic and even power forward Tobias Harris to flourish inside the painted area too. Basically there is a lot to like about what this guy can do for the Magic.
Athletically, Hood is nothing special, but he doesn’t really need to be. He can have a specialist role on this team. At 6’8″ he is taller than the average small forward. At a shade less than 210 pounds, however, he can be outmatched by a lot of opponents.
Defending would’t be his calling card, but with the likes of Afflalo and Vucevic backing him up, it wouldn’t necessarily have to be. Other than that, it seems he has an NBA-ready understanding of the game.
Not a great one-on-one player, he has learned to survive by coming off screens and getting open looks by working hard for them. On offensive sets, he knows where he needs to be and what he needs to do, even if he is not seeing the ball. All admirable traits, and all worth considering for this team.
Picking Rodney Hood 12th would be a risk in that there will be better players available in the draft at the point still. Hood would be somewhat of a safe pick though, a player you could insert into the rotation right away and watch him make a contribution.
The 3-point shot is all the rage these days, and as a left handed player he would be tricky for some players to read. Orlando may be lured by the higher ceilings of other players when using their second pick in the lottery, and that’s fine.
But looking at what Rodney Hood brings to the table and what he could give this team, he just might be the smartest pick for Orlando to take when the time comes, because he will be available when their name is called to pick again.