Report: Contract negotiations stall between Cleveland Cavaliers, Rodney Hood

Rodney Hood only wants a short-term contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports, contract talks have stalled between the Cleveland Cavaliers and restricted free agent Rodney Hood.

Hood, who the Cavs are said to want back on a three-year deal, only wants a “fair short-term contract.”

Terminology like that brings images of players like Jabari Parker (two years, $40 million), J.J. Redick (one year, $21 million) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (one year, $17 million); all players who have signed pricey but short-term contracts over the last couple of seasons.

Unfortunately for Hood, the Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to present what he feels is an acceptable offer on the table.

What’s even more unfortunate for Hood is that the primary reason the Cavaliers are biting back at the margins when it comes to paying him probably has nothing to do with him.

During former general manager David Griffin’s tenure, the Cavs signed players like J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson to lucrative long-term contracts that they had trouble moving when those players began to struggle.

While there’s something to be said about the Cavs’ willingness to trade away players immediately after they started to struggle, there’s more to be said about the frustration they had at not being able to improve the team thoroughly because of bloated contracts.

That said, signing Hood to a contract that pays him as much as Smith (four years, $57 million) or Thompson (five years, $82 million) doesn’t seem to appeal to the Cavs.

Though he’s a talented scorer and playmaker, he’s likely going to have to prove his value to Cavs general manager Koby Altman by signing the qualifying offer and balling out next season.

A player who averaged 16.8 points per game with the Utah Jazz as one of their top two playmakers, Hood can provide similar value for the LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers.

Say all the things you want about his postseason performance but those words fall flat when looking at how Cavs like All-Star power forward Kevin Love struggled tremendously in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs and then received a hefty four-year, $120 million contract extension in the offseason.

The type of extension that would make you think he never struggled to fit in, that his first NBA Finals appearance wasn’t a horror show or that in the 2016-2017 season he never forgot how to score in the post.

Last season was Love’s best in Cleveland and it took three years for him to look that way.

If temporary struggles are the Cavs reason are saying Hood can’t get the contract he wants, then they need to re-evaluate their rationale.

More from Cavs Analysis

• The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
• This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead
• Projecting how much Cavs’ 3 two-way signings might play this season
• 4 Cavaliers looking to make a name for themselves in training camp
• Mitchell’s numbers getting trimmed a bit wouldn’t be bad thing for Cavaliers

Though he’s certainly talented enough for a lucrative contract, the primary reason Love received the extension was largely symbolism and sentimentality in the immediate aftermath of LeBron James’ departure. The Cleveland Cavaliers were shook to their core by his absence and want to show that they can be relevant and competitive despite him playing in Purple and Gold rather than Wine and Gold.

Make no mistake about it, Love has been a more productive player.

Even at Hood’s best, Love has been better; he’s a more proven scorer and facilitator as well as a far better rebounder with a two-inch height advantage and 40-pound weight advantage.

However, there are many who forget that Love averaged 12.3 points per game (16.7 points per 36 minutes) and shot 29.6 percent from three in his first two seasons. He then exploded to an average of 22.7 points per game (22.0 points per 36 minutes) while shooting 39.1 percent from three in the next two seasons, earning two All-Star appearances.

Hood, a four-year pro, averaged 12.3 points per game (15.8 points per 36 minutes) and shot 36.0 percent from three in his first two seasons. He’s averaged 13.7 points per game (18.3 points per 36 minutes) on 37.7 percent shooting from three in the two seasons since.

That said, while Love managed to be an explosive scorer by his fourth season in the NBA, Hood is on a similar path. He even averaged 19.6 points per 36 minutes last season (21.8 points per 36 minutes with the Jazz).

For comparison, Love averaged 22.7 points per 36 minutes last season.

Say what you want about Hood’s postseason performance but he’s a bucket-getter who can put up points just about as well as Love while, unlike Love, creating a bulk of those shots for himself.

It’s at the point where the only big gap between Love and Hood, in terms of on-paper production, is their impact on the boards.

If that’s the case, what’s so hard about giving him a nice, short-term deal right after giving Love $30 million? Especially after an offseason’s worth of reports that they would match any offer for Hood as a restricted free agent?

If you want to add in reality to the issue, this is all after Hood’s wife, Richa, had twins just before the postseason began (which may have contributed to his early struggles on the court).

The 29-year-old man without a wife or children has added to his chips by extending what was already a high-priced long-term contract while the 25-year-old man supporting his wife and three children off of his rookie scale salary has to settle for the crumbs.

There’s something that doesn’t sit right about what the Cavs are doing in these contract negotiations on even a human level, not just a “recognizing the talent that’s right in front of your face” level.

Hood might as well sign his qualifying offer and run for the hills next summer because, for whatever reason, the Cavaliers literally undervalue him.

*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com