Utah Jazz: 5 goals for Rodney Hood in 2017-18

3. Become Utah’s primary scorer

Prior to the start of the offseason, Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey issued out a challenge to Hood during the team’s official exit meetings.

Instructing his lead guard to get ready for a larger role, and seeking to reiterate it publicly after Hayward decided to leave Utah and join the Boston Celtics, Lindsey took out the time to share his expectations for Hood with the media in July.

"“We believe Rodney Hood can be a primary scorer,” Lindsey told KSL.com’s Andy Larsen. “It’s time for us to pivot; it’s time for us to move on.”"

While he has not had the chance to fully show what he can do as the lead option in an offense, Hood has exhibited flashes in his first few seasons  — scoring 20 or more points five times to cap off the final month of his rookie year, and averaging a total 18.5 points, with a 55.7 effective field goal percentage through a 25-game stretch his sophomore season.

Should Hood be able elevate his play at this level throughout a full 82-game stretch, then he could put himself in prime position to become Utah’s leading scorer and possibly help elevate his stock in the negotiation room.

Hood is eligible for a rookie-scale extension this season, and while the two parties recently opened up negotiations last month, he could put himself in a great position to get an eventual payday by showing Jazz fans in Salt Lake City that he is indeed ready to take the next step of his career sooner rather than later.