Former Duke basketball wing looking to help champs go back-to-back

Former Duke basketball wing Rodney Hood is looking to help the champs go back-to-back. 

A former Duke basketball player did not win an NBA Championship this year, but Rodney Hood is looking to change that next season.

Hood was released from the Toronto Raptors at the beginning of this month’s free agency but quickly agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, the reigning NBA Champions.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report Hood’s signing. The specific contract details are unknown, but the length of the contract is for just one year.

The expectation is that Hood will be signing with Milwaukee for the veteran minimum.

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After rupturing his Achilles with the Portland Trail Blazers early in the 2019-20 season, Hood returned to the court in 2020-21 and played in 38 games with the Blazers before he was shipped to the Toronto Raptors in a trade deadline deal along with former Blue Devil Gary Trent Jr.

Trent Jr. agreed to a three-year, $54 million deal with the Raptors this week.

Former Duke basketball standout still looking to regain pre-injury form

Rodney Hood averaged just 4.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in 55 contests last season with the Blazers and the Raptors.

Prior to his injury, he was averaging 11.0 points per game with Portland, but his career best came in his second NBA season with the Utah Jazz at 14.2 points per contest.

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Hood has shot 42.2-percent from the field in his career as well as 36.7-percent from 3-point range.

The Milwaukee Bucks have seen some of their key contributors to their championship run, such as PJ Tucker, leave the franchise during free agency. They are hoping players like Rodney Hood can fill the void as the team looks to make a run for another title this fall.

Milwaukee also signed Semi Ojeleye this week, a teammate of Hood’s at Duke during the 2013-14 season.