How the Cavs should handle contract negotiations with Rodney Hood, Larry Nance Jr.
The Cleveland Cavaliers should pay both Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood double-figure salaries this offseason.
As the July Moratorium — the period when teams and players can begin agreeing to contracts — approaches, the Cleveland Cavaliers have more to think about than the basketball fate of franchise leader LeBron James or how to acquire another All-Star talent before the 2018-2019 season. Do they sign center Larry Nance Jr. and swingman Rodney Hood, two of their 25-year-old trade deadline acquisitions, to a lucrative long-term contract?
Larry Nance Jr.
According to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, there’s a high chance that the Cleveland Cavaliers do in fact opt to sign Nance long-term, via a contract extension. The extension, which could max out as a three-year, $72 million deal, would be welcomed by both sides.
"Multiple league sources told cleveland.com there is “a ton” of interest on both sides to discuss an extension for Nance…The Cavs have expressed to Nance that they view him as a foundational piece, sources said."
Nance is a springy but lightweight center with a knack for making impact plays on the defensive end.
He averaged 8.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game last season, routinely showing a level of athleticism and awareness that enhanced the Cavs’ potential on both ends of the floor.
He averaged 4.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in 15.4 minutes per game during the playoffs, making an all-around impact in his first career postseason.
The Cavs would be wise to extend Nance’s contract and pay him a salary not too much unlike center Tristan Thompson, the player who he replaced in the starting lineup before Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue opted to start the longer-tenured Cavs in the postseason.
Thompson signed a five-year, $82 million contract in 2015, with an escalating salary that started at $14.3 million. The contract seems a bit pricey a few years later so Nance may not get $15 million per year but he should certainly be paid north of $10 million annually.
Rodney Hood
After a tumultuous postseason that hardly reflected his impact for the Cavaliers in the regular season, Hood’s free agency is more complex.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will first have to decide if they want to extend a $3.4 million qualifying offer to Hood and make him a restricted free agent rather than allowing him to be an unrestricted free agent and preventing them from being able to match any contract offer he receives. They have until June 29th to make a qualifying offer.
"Most NBA insiders say Hood cost himself lots of money with his postseason struggles, limiting the contract offers he might get this summer…Team sources say they like Hood and his future on the team, but no one’s tipped a hand as to what’s next for him."
Paying $3.4 million for the opportunity to keep a talented playmaker like Hood should be a no-brainer.
Hood averaged 14.7 points. 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals in 26.9 minutes per game in the regular season. He averaged 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15.3 minutes per game (12.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per 36 minutes) in the postseason.
For all the talk of his postseason struggles, not only does it ignore the impact he made prior to the playoffs and how he was utilized for most of the playoff run but it ignores the struggles of mainstays throughout the playoffs:
J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver’s struggles in the 2018 NBA Finals, where Hood actually managed to shine. Kevin Love’s struggles against the Indiana Pacers in the first round, as Pacers center Thaddeus Young muscled him around.
Fair enough, both Smith and Love could be traded this offseason.
However, it wouldn’t be for their postseason play this season; the Cavs tried to trade Smith earlier in the season because of his inconsistency and have tried to trade Love for years so that they can retool their Big Three.
Looking around the league, Hood should be earning a figure similar to Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($17.7 million) or Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Allen Crabbe ($19.3 million), players with a similar age, size, production and potential. Perhaps the Cavs bite back at the margins in light of his postseason showing but paying him at least $15 million per year, on a three-year deal, is reasonable.
The Cavaliers need to invest in the youth.
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*All that’s gathered from www.basketball-reference.com