Duke basketball: Rodney Hood expects to be back in Portland next season
Former Duke basketball sensation Rodney Hood is hoping to remain in Portland with the Trail Blazers entering next season as he continues to recover from an Achilles rupture.
As the NBA is hoping to find a path to returning this season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, former Duke basketball standout Rodney Hood is already looking forward to next season.
Hood ruptured his Achilles back on December 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers and has since undergone surgery.
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On a Zoom video chat with reporters, Hood said that he’s been working out with Portland’s trainers despite the pandemic and intends to be back with the team next season.
Hood has a player option for the 2020-21 season worth $6 million, but he could opt out and try to renegotiate with either the Trail Blazers or a different team.
The former Blue Devil signed a two-year deal with Portland in the offseason after being dealt at the 2018-19 trading deadline from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Trail Blazers.
Hood was a key factor down the stretch of the regular season in 2019 and was arguably the third-best player on the team in the playoffs which saw Portland reach the Western Conference Finals.
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Prior to his injury this season, Rodney Hood played, and started, all 21 games for Portland, averaging 11.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 49.3 percent from 3-point range.
The injury to Rodney Hood paved the way for a fellow Blue Devil, Gary Trent Jr., to see extended playing time with the Blazers, and the second-year guard thrived once given the opportunity.
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Trent Jr. was averaging 7.7 points per contest on 42.6 percent shooting from the floor and 38.8 percent from 3-point range.
Should Rodney Hood opt to leave the Portland Trail Blazers, it would be his fourth team entering his seventh year in the NBA.