What the return of Rodney Hood means to the Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers re-signed Rodney Hood just days after he opted out of the final year of his deal.

The Portland Trail Blazers locked themselves in as contenders for the 2020-21 season when they re-signed Rodney Hood for two seasons. This was on top of the Carmelo Anthony, Robert Covington, and Derrick Jones Jr signings as well as the Enes Kanter trade.

Hood was incredible for the first 21 games of last season before he cruelly suffered an Achilles injury in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. It was cruel because Hood had just become comfortable with his situation in Portland, and this is extremely important for the six-year veteran.

After coming over via trade in the 2018-19 season, Hood had 27 games to find his feet. He averaged 9.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.8 steals in 24.4 minutes per game. His shooting splits were .452/.345/.805.

The Portland Trail Blazers saw what it meant when Rodney Hood was comfortable.

In the 21 games before his injury in 2019-20, Hood was incredible. He averaged 11.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.8 steals in 29.5 minutes per game. His shooting was the hallmark of efficiency for the entire league. His slash line was .506/.493/.778 which was the best of his career by far.

Unfortunately, these numbers were a little wasted on last season’s Blazers squad. They had so many injuries that it was impossible for them to stay competitive in the West. Then Hood injured himself and things got worse.

Hood has not played a game since then so he took a bit of a risk by opting out of his $5.7 million player option. However, the Blazers clearly wanted their man back as they signed him to a two-year deal worth $21.0 million per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The Blazers gave themselves an option out, should Hood not be up to the level he was prior to the injury. The second year of his deal is not guaranteed which is important as the Blazers need to keep some flexibility for next year given they think this is their window.

Hood is not going to start next season. The starting wing role will certainly go to Covington. What the Blazers are hoping Wood will provide is starting level production from the bench. Given that the season is shorter, bench depth is going to be crucial.

On top of this, Hood gives the Blazers an extra level of flexibility. When they need to go small, he can play the wing while Covington and Anthony play the frontcourt positions. When they want to go big, Hood can play the two-guard, such is his ability.

When the 2020-21 NBA season opens, there is going to be a lot of interest in Portland. They are moving up the Western Conference power rankings with every move they make, and for good reason.

They do not have any holes in their roster and are going to be keen to erase the memory of last year with their play this year. They are going to be one of the hardest teams to beat, assuming Hood comes back at a similar level to where he was prior to the injury.