The Toronto Raptors have traded Norman Powell.
The Raptors are sending Powell to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.
Welcome to the family, @gtrentjr & @rodneyhood. #WeTheNorth
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 25, 2021
📰 » https://t.co/aQUkFeSsDI pic.twitter.com/bV5xEuEGcW
Who is Hood? Let's take a closer look with some fast facts
Background
Hood was born on Oct. 29, 1992 in Meridian, Mississippi.
He attended Meridian High School where he averaged 24.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.0 blocks per game as a senior, becoming the No. 31 ranked player in ESPN's Top 100 for the Class of 2011.
College experience
As a four-star recruit, Hood had offers from high-major schools like Louisville, Florida State, Alabama and Marquette, but elected to stay home and attend Mississippi State.
He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after posting 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in his first year at Mississippi State, but the scoring wing elected to transfer to Duke University following his freshman season.
After sitting out one year due to the NCAA's transfer rules, Hood was ready to elevate his game when he took the floor for the Blue Devils. He averaged 16.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 42.0 percent from 3, earning All-ACC Second Team honours.
After one season at Duke, Hood had solidified himself as an NBA prospect.
NBA experience
Hood was selected by the Utah Jazz with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
He had a promising rookie season where he showcased the versatile skill as a shooter and defender to having a lasting career in the NBA. His second season in the league, he earned a starting role with the Jazz, starting in all 79 games he appeared in while averaging 14.5 points per game. In fact, his career-high in scoring came in his sophomore season when he dropped 32 points in a win over the Grit-N-Grind-era Memphis Grizzlies.
Hood played three-and-a-half seasons in Utah before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline in 2017-18. He was playing the best basketball of his career at the time of the trade, averaging 16.8 points per game, when LeBron James and the Cavs added Hood to their roster to gear up for another run at an NBA title.
Hood took on a significant role off the bench for Cleveland, but couldn't put it together in the postseason, shooting just 16.7 percent from 3 over the course of the playoffs while the Cavaliers were swept in the NBA Finals by the Golden State Warriors.
He would play half of the following season in Cleveland before being traded at the deadline again, this time to the Portland Trail Blazers. In his first season with the Blazers, Hood's impact was most felt in the playoffs. He had five games where he scored over 15 points in the team's run to the Western Conference Finals, but no performance was bigger than his 25-point Game 6 that helped force a Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets.
In his second season in Portland in 2019-20, Hood again became a starter, averaging 11.0 points per game while shooting a career-best 49.3 percent from beyond the arc. If not for a devastating Achilles injury 21 games into the season, the at-the-time 27-year-old was poised to play a big role in the Blazers playoff hopes.
He hadn't quite shaken off the rust yet from that injury this season in 2020-21, posting just 4.7 points per game while shooting 29.8 percent from 3 before being traded to the Raptors at the deadline.
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