The Toronto Raptors won just one game in March, even after adding Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood from the Portland Trail Blazers in the Norman Powell trade. While Trent is trying to prove that he is a potential long-term building block in Toronto, Hood is doing everything he can to show that his Achilles injury is a thing of the past.
Hood averaged 5.5 points per game in four contests with Toronto, but he looked like a lively offensive player capable of hitting some difficult shots when called upon. He appeared to be something that the Raptors could keep an eye on during the last few months of the season.
Unfortunately, Hood has been saddled with some major injuries over the course of his recent career, and that propensity for suffering these injuries has unfortunately reared its head once again during Toronto’s loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder last night.
Per head coach Nick Nurse, Hood’s hip injury that limited him to just six minutes “looked serious”, meaning he will get an MRI to determine just how serious that injury is. For someone who has struggled to stay healthy, this has to be a killer blow for his morale.
Nick Nurse says Rodney Hood's hip looks serious. Headed for an MRI.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) April 1, 2021
Stanley Johnson is fine.
Toronto Raptors: A Rodney Hood hip injury might’ve ruled out a 2021-22 return
From the 2015 to 2019 seasons, Hood was one of the most underrated small forwards in the game given his ability to handle the ball, post up, and shoot from deep.
With the Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Cleveland Cavaliers, the former Duke star 13.1 points per game on 43% shooting and 37% from the 3-point range. After tearing his Achilles, Hood hasn’t even averaged five points per game, a sign that the explosion and ability to create his own shot has been sapped away.
Not only will Hood’s latest injury potentially sideline him for a good chunk of the remainder of the season, but it’s a hip injury, which is by no means something that can be easily bounced back from with minimal side effects. Simply put, this is some unfathomably poor luck.
Hood’s non-guaranteed salary for next year, if Toronto brings him back, would be an eight-figure sum of $10.8 million.
That type of money being allocated to a rotational bench player like Hood would be extremely risky for a front office that has preached financial flexibility this offseason, and Hood’s inability to stay healthy might end up being the final nail in his coffin as far as the Raptors are concerned.
Even if Hood comes back this season, the damage has already been done. What could’ve been an ace reserve for the 2021 season has instead morphed into a complete question mark that could cost the Raptors a ton of money if they believe too much in his ability to rehabilitate.
Hood is damaged goods, and it’s a shame to see.