David Griffin, former general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, believes that Rodney Hood and the Cavs can help each other reach their potential.
Cleveland Cavaliers restricted free agent Rodney Hood is probably the most newsworthy NBA player in Ohio right now as his free agency looks like it’ll extend into September. That said, when cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor and Joe Vardon invited Cavs former general manager David Griffin onto the Wine and Gold Talk Podcast on Sunday night, Hood was sure to be a player whose name came up.
As was expected, Fedor and Vardon asked a few questions about the sweet-shooting lefty and what Griffin had to say about Hood might surprise you.
”Cavs fans are going to see the best of Rodney Hood,” said Griffin, “because he’s capable of being what they need him to be within that framework of expectation.”
Going into further detail about Hood’s maturity level as a player, Griffin would explain what he meant about the “framework of expectation.”
"“I think this thing about Rodney [Hood] with this Cavs team is that emotionally the expectations are going to be more in line with what his maturity as a player will allow him to do.”"
"“He’s uber-talented; but when it’s put-up or shut up and the only thing that’s going to mark success is winning a championship, he doesn’t have that level of confidence yet. But I think this Cavs team is going to let him find that; in much the same way that he was so good with Utah, members of his coaching staff told members of our coaching staff the year before I left (2017), he was more important to them than Gordon Hayward.”"
Hood, who averaged 14.7 points per game last year after averaging 16.8 points per game for the Utah Jazz and then 10.8 points per game for the Cavs, didn’t have an ideal season last year.
After feeling isolated in Utah despite his individual success and feeling underutilized in Cleveland, Hood likely entered the offseason with a bit of relief; time to decompress and then get back to working on his craft.
He’s a perimeter playmaker who can thrive in transition, isolation, the pick-and-roll and as a three-point threat. You’d like to see more rebounds, assists and defensive production from Hood as he climbs towards his potential but the offensive talent is easy to spot.
That said, everything Griffin said was true. Hood didn’t have the confidence level needed to excel in a championship-or-bust, ‘put up or shut up’ environment last season and it doomed him.
To be fair, at 25-years-old and in his fourth season in the league, he was one of the few players with that level of youth and responsibility. It’s possible that the only other players with that type of expectation over the past five years has been Kyrie Irving and that was with the Cavs.
Hood was thrown into the fire last year and while its been forgotten, there were so many lineup changes and role changes — so much fundamental chaos — that Hood, Jordan Clarkson, George Hill and Larry Nance Jr. stepped into a war zone following their trades to the Cavs. It’s nice to say a player should excel no matter their environment but to be frank, environments often play a large role in the production of a player.
A playoff-contender, like the Miami Heat, will have less of a mental and emotional burden placed on than a team like the Golden State Warriors, who are expected to win championships year after year. It’s just natural.
Consequentially, the thought is that without that extreme level of pressure, Hood will have time to develop into the player that can handle that type of pressure.
As it was last year, he was just thrown to the wolves, taking a shortcut that led him from being on a playoff-contender with Utah to a championship-or-bust team in Cleveland. time to work his way up to that level.
According to Griffin, the reason that Hood remains unsigned is actually because of the chance that he excels in the Cavs’ current environment. There’s no need for them to sign a long-term deal now simply because Hood could be worth far more by the end of the year.
"”Well I think Rodney’s agent recognizes what we were just saying. It’s the perfect situation for Rodney.”"
Hood may remain unsigned well into training camp, only signing the one-year $3.5 qualifying offer if forced to.
However, should he reach his potential, as Griffin believes he can do with this Cavs team, Cavs general manager Koby Altman and team owner Dan Gilbert may be stuck wishing they paid him more sooner.
*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com