Cleveland Cavaliers guard Rodney Hood might get dealt this season, but he will have a say in wherever he goes.
That’s because the dynamic scorer recently discovered he has a no-trade clause in his contract, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“I didn’t know that until actually about like three or four days ago when people started talking about it,” Hood said.
Due to the one-year Bird restriction as a result of signing a qualifying offer in the offseason, the 26-year-old is able to veto any trade. If that stipulation wasn’t in place, players would lose their Bird rights if they were traded. Furthermore, they would have to pick up their bags and relocate immediately to a place they might not want to go to.
Hood knows how challenging that process can be. The father of three was traded by the Utah Jazz in a multi-team trade to the Cavs last season. Before getting dealt, Hood was putting up a career-high 16.8 points on 42.4 percent shooting with the Jazz. Despite going to a better team, the guard saw his production slow down in last year’s playoffs.
Yet, with superstar LeBron James’ departure to Los Angeles this past summer, the gates for another star’s arrival have opened. Although Hood could have signed a lengthier deal with the Cavs this past offseason, the five-year pro opted to re-sign with the team at the $3.4 million qualifying to prove that he can be the star the squad needs.
While that hasn’t exactly been the case so far, Hood and his family are enjoying their time in Cleveland.
“I’m happy in Cleveland, man,” Hood told Cleveland.com. “I like being here. I like the fan base. I like the city, me and my family are settled there. I’m not even looking towards being traded. It’s a business and what happens outside of my jurisdiction, with my agent and the front office, that will happen and we will go from there.”
Hood is averaging 13.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game this season.
