Over the weekend, news about the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ contract negotiations with restricted free agent Rodney Hood shifted dramatically before he eventually agreed to a one-year deal on Sunday. In the wake of that agreement being reached, Hood is now focusing on the season ahead.
Cavs' @rodneyhood filed paperwork for 1-year, $3.4M deal to return to Cleveland, tells me: “I’ve been working really hard this summer, improving my body and game. I’m excited to get to work with my teammates, looking forward to having my best year and going back to the playoffs.”
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2018
On Saturday, reports had surfaced that Hood was seeking a three-year contract that would’ve paid him $9 million per season, an amount neither the Cavaliers nor any other team was likely to pay. The basis for that viewpoint was that Hood had presumably not gotten any offers near that amount since he entered the free agent market on July 1.
The deal that Hood signed will pay him the $3.4 million qualifying offer the Cavs had to make in order to retain his restricted rights. That allowed them to match any potential offer Hood might have received from another NBA team, a circumstance that never developed over more than two months.
This one-year agreement allows Hood to become an unrestricted free agent next July, which puts the onus on him to deliver a strong season. Doing so will make teams more willing to consider paying him that $9 million amount, or even more, depending on his production. For the Cavs, they get Hood at a discounted rate for the upcoming campaign, but run the risk of losing him in 2019 or paying a much steeper price next season.
Hood’s main problem during his first four seasons in the NBA has been a nagging lack of consistency in his play. It was presumably one of the reasons the Utah Jazz traded him to the Cavs back in February. During his time in Cleveland, he was plagued by injuries and a recurrence of that inconsistent play. It was then aggravated by a postseason controversy that may have played a role in other teams’ reluctances to sign him.
The Cavaliers training camp gets underway on Sept. 25.
