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Summary

There was once a time when the Utah Jazz were preparing for a near-max level contract for Hood when his rookie contract ended. But his time in Utah soured due to nagging injuries and inconsistent play.

 

After being traded to Cleveland, Hood struggled to contribute to the competitive Lebron-led Cavaliers, and couldn't find his place after Lebron left either. After being traded to Portland, Hood had some big moments in the 2019 playoffs, mostly spotting up around Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

 

Hood's career will mostly come down to the rate he hits outside shots, but he does have other skills. Hood has the potential to be a very good secondary ball handler, as he is patient in the pick-and-roll and can use the snake dribble to create shots. However, he is limited by his ability to make plays for others, and has always played smaller than he appears on defense.

 

Hood missed the entire '19-'20 season after tearing his Achilles, so his market would likely be pretty dry if he opted for free agency this offseason.

Cap Considerations

Hood has a player option on his $6 million salary for 2020-2021, and will be an unrestricted free agent with a $7.4 million cap hold and Early Bird rights if he opts out. Since the Trailblazers will only have his Early Bird rights, they will be limited to paying him a starting salary of $10 million, which would almost certainly be enough.

 

If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents. The Trailblazers could take advantage of this rule if Hood is re-signed, and they operate under the cap by renouncing their other free agents. If Hood is brought back on a multi-year contract, front-loading the contract would be beneficial for the Trailblazers, as they could do so without losing cap space and while still avoiding the luxury tax.

 

Teams other than the Trailblazers will have multiple ways to sign Hood, as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him.

Potential Teams: Trailblazers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Bulls, Pelicans

Predicted Contract: Opt In: $6 million

If opt out: 1-year, $6.2 million with the Trailblazers

Actual Contract: 2-year, $21 million (2nd year non-guaranteed) with the Trailblazers

This was one of the more surprising signings of the offseason, as I did not expect Hood to get a raise after missing almost all of the prior season with a torn Achilles.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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