Rodney Hood Explains Why Playing in Cleveland Was So Rough Last Season

Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Rodney Hood was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers near the NBA trading deadline, marking the second year in a row that he’d been acquired by another team.

In the aftermath of this most recent deal, Hood took time to reflect on the bumpy transition he had with the Cavaliers last season.

Hood was interviewed by Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype and noted how having gotten past last year’s struggles offered some preparation for his current situation:

“Yeah, it’s much easier. Last year when I got traded from Utah to Cleveland, I was [in the process of] trying to move into a house. Then, two months later, I had twins in the middle of the playoffs. Not to mention, we were staying in a hotel with our son, who was only 2 years old at the time. We were dealing with the ‘terrible twos’ in a hotel room and barely sleeping. There was so much going on when I got traded that first time.”

That struggle to adjust likely played a role in his inconsistent play once he joined the Cavs, with an injury also setting him back. Then, during the postseason, his refusal to enter a game put him in the team’s doghouse until the last two games of the Finals.

Once the season ended, he discovered that there was little interest in other teams signing him as a restricted free agent. Ultimately, he accepted the Cavaliers’ qualifying offer of $3.4 million, which allows him to become an unrestricted free agent in July. That pending status made him an obvious candidate to be traded.

“I wasn’t surprised,” said Hood about being traded. “In the two weeks leading up to [the deadline], I kind of had an idea that something was going to happen, but I just kept playing and being a professional while focusing on what we were doing in Cleveland. Then, I got wind that a bunch of teams were interested in trading for me and I had veto power, so while I won’t say that I could ‘pick’ where I landed, I could kind of maneuver [my way] to a team I wanted to join.”

In his first four games with the Trail Blazers, Hood has averaged 9.8 points and 1.3 rebounds while averaging 22.8 minutes per game. In those contests, the 26-year-old Hood has had a solid shooting touch, connecting on 16-of-24 (66.7 percent) from the field, including 6-of-12 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc.