NBA Trade Grades: Cavaliers acquire Rodney Hood, George Hill in 3-team trade
Utah Jazz
Even with Donovan Mitchell‘s emergence and Rodney Hood’s restricted free agency this summer, this is a fairly underwhelming return for such a talented two-way wing, especially in a league where young players with that exact skill-set are so coveted.
In the middle of a career year, the 25-year-old Hood was averaging 16.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, thriving in a sixth man role once Mitchell took over Utah’s offense. Though he was only shooting 42.4 percent from the field, he was canning 38.9 percent of his 6.7 long range attempts per game. Add in his stout perimeter defense and you’ve got a solid asset on both ends of the floor.
However, with the Jazz facing a salary cap crunch and the front office seeking to rebuild around Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, it was only a matter of time before Hood was shown the door. It’s just unfortunate that the return is only Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose, who will be waived.
Utah will likely release former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Crowder has been playing out of position at the 4 in Cleveland this season, but he’s still had an underwhelming year, averaging just 8.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on .418/.328/.848 shooting splits.
The Jazz will be hoping the Jae Crowder they have for the next two years is the one who averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on .463/.398/.811 splits last year in Boston.
If so, the $15.1 million he’s owed through 2019-20 will be well worth it for a team that wants to remain competitive while rebuilding. There’s a good chance he returns to form under Quin Snyder, making him a decent buy-low candidate.
Have a few mentions why didn't Jazz get a 1st round pick instead of Crowder. 1st round pick would have been 24 to 30 ish. For next two years I am certain Jae Crowder is better than that pick
— David Locke (@DLocke09) February 8, 2018
However, if he doesn’t return to form (and perhaps even if he does), this is still a fairly disappointing return for a two-way wing of Hood’s caliber. Yes, the market was tight, and yes, extracting a first round pick for a player they were ready to move on from would’ve been challenging. But this feels like a short-sighted move overall.
Crowder addresses a need for Utah with Thabo Sefolosha going down, but the Jazz may miss Hood’s scoring off the bench in the interim, and really should’ve been able to get more for him anyway.
Grade: C