Portland Trail Blazers: Questions Following the Rodney Hood Trade

The Portland Trail Blazers recently acquired Rodney Hood from the Cleveland Cavaliers. With this move, a flurry of questions arises.

On Super Bowl Sunday, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired Rodney Hood from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin, and two second round picks (2021, 2023). The deal wasn’t a blockbuster, but, for a talented wing who can play both shooting guard and small forward, Hood came at a relatively low cost. With the addition, though, there lies ahead some important implications to consider.

Questions start spiraling when you examine how Head Coach Terry Stotts will find minutes for him in Portland’s slew of capable forwards. Beyond Hood, the Blazers also roster Maurice Harkless, Jake Layman, and Evan Turner.

Baldwin appeared in only 16 games for limited minutes, while Stauskas had seen his minutes dwindle as he became less effective and soreness in his left knee flared up. The players Portland sent out in the trade make no real impact to the depth chart. The rotation will need to be shifted to find space for Hood.

Judging from NBC Northwest’s Dan Sheldon’s recent time with Stotts, we may already know how that’s going to happen:

Though slightly cryptic, the insinuation is that Layman will be put back into a bench-warming role to make space for Hood. Over the team’s last 13 games, Layman averaged 23.2 minutes per game, and this seems like a fair share for Portland’s newest acquisition.

The next question then pops up: Who wins the starting role between Harkless and Hood?

Although Hood is the better three-point shooter and shot-creator between them, his talents may be minimized in starting with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Alongside ball-dominant guards, Hood will have less opportunities to find his rhythm as a scorer. Harkless, meanwhile, has been the group’s established starter (when not injured) as a defensive specialist that can be weaponized when the Blazers push the pace.

I’d be surprised if Hood usurps Harkless right from the get-go, and I’ll bet that Harkless remains the team’s starter unless Hood impresses when playing with Rip City’s backcourt tandem.

So, if I’m right, and the plan is to keep Harkless as the starting three, then how well does Hood work in the second-unit?

The fit seems natural for a guy that likes to create around the midrange and shoot from deep. The floor will be spaced nicely for him with the likes of Seth Curry, Meyers Leonard, Zach Collins, and the occasional stint from McCollum or Lillard. However, keeping Turner as the backup point could allow opposing guards and wingers alike to cheat off of him and get Hood into trouble.

Because of this, there’s an argument to be made that Portland should stagger one of their stars to maintain a facilitator on the floor who is as deadly from three as anyone when Hood plays.

But then Turner starts looking like an odd man out. The next question: How much should ET play?

While Turner originally appeared as a nice option to run the second-unit to keep from staggering Lillard and McCollum, Portland has recently fallen back into keeping one of the two on the floor. If the Blazers are serious about making noise in this year’s postseason, it may be in their best interest to experiment with limiting ET’s time.

As a starter in the playoffs last year and the year before, Turner has been a net negative (-3.9, -2.0). Of course, that was in a role that saw him playing alongside both Lillard and McCollum more often. But even this year, he has not been a positive player – the Blazers are 4.7 points worse per 100 possessions with him on the floor. This number is certainly influenced by some shaky bench play around him, but Turner is the captain of this group and therefore shares some of the blame.

With Turner becoming seemingly less important to this team’s rotation with the arrival of Hood, yet another question arises: Is there another move coming?

This idea becomes especially interesting when you remember that Layman, who has emerged in spurts this season, is apparently being dismissed to the bench.

Perhaps Layman could be a piece in an upcoming deal. The Blazers would be selling high on his solid season thus far to give another team a look at him while he is a restricted free agent this summer. An interesting 24-year-old paired with Turner, whose contract will be expiring next season, and a future first round pick could be decent assets to a trade partner.

Of course, Layman’s dismissal could just be a clever play by the Blazers to keep his cost low when/if they re-sign him at season’s end.

Still, if there’s a club out there with an established or intriguing wing that wants to move them for a soon-to-be expiring deal, a developing player, and a future first, the Blazers could both consolidate and shore up their forward rotation in one fell swoop.

But maybe that’s wishful thinking.

There’s no telling what will all happen until we see Hood actually play and February 7 NBA Trade Deadline passes, but my mind is no doubt buzzing with questions.