NBA Trade Grades: Cavaliers get Rodney Hood and George Hill
The Cleveland Cavaliers continued to shake things up, acquiring more scoring to play alongside LeBron James.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were not done on Thursday. After trading Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, and their 2018 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., they continued to re-tool their roster.
In two separate deals, the Cavaliers acquired Rodney Hood from Utah and George Hill from Sacramento. In return, they’ll trade out Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder (both going to Utah) and Iman Shumpert (headed to Sacramento).
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has the details thus far:
Cleveland Cavaliers
This is a monster deal for the Cavaliers. They’re getting a veteran point guard in Hill and another scorer in Rodney Hill. Alongside with previous deals for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., the Cavaliers have planted their flag back atop the Eastern Conference. They’ve upgraded their roster across the board with this deal, getting younger and more athletic players.
There is a concern that they’ve done too much. LeBron James will walk into practice on Thursday as the only player left on the team. On Friday, he’ll walk into practice surrounded by all new faces.
But these are necessary moves for a team that has Finals aspirations once again. Derrick Rose is still a shell of his former self. Iman Shumpert can barely play at this point. And Jae Crowder never fit alongside James.
Hood gives them instant offense and Hill gives them a veteran hand. The Cavaliers work best when James is surrounded by shooting. Both players are extremely accurate from deep.
It’s possible that these moves don’t pan out and the Cavaliers mid-season rebuild will blow up in their face. But these are the upgrades LeBron was searching for and you have to commend the Cavaliers for going all-in without giving up the Brooklyn pick.
Grade: A
Utah Jazz
Utah were always going to move Hood at the deadline. They also sent Joe Johnson to Sacramento. Derrick Rose is unlikely to see much playing time with Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell ahead of him. He’s a potential buyout candidate.
Maybe they can save Jae Crowder. He struggled in Cleveland this season, but was solid for the Celtics last year and the season prior. He’s 27-years-old and on a friendly contract until 2020. He’s a low-risk move for a Utah team that will continue to build around Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. If he becomes 75 percent of the defender that he was in Boston, he’s a major steal considering they were not retaining Hood after this season.
Grade: C+
Sacramento Kings
Aside from Miami’s 2020 second-round pick, Sacramento received players who won’t be part of their future. They’ll likely buyout Joe Johnson, freeing him up to sign with a team with championship aspirations. Iman Shumpert has a player option at the end of this season, which could be bad news for the Kings if he picks it up.
Sacramento has committed to their youth and Hill was not part of that plan. He is still owed $19 million next season and $18 million the following year. That’s too much money for a team who needs to open up as much playing time as possible for guys like De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield.
Next: NBA Trade Deadline 2018: Rumor and deal tracker
It was a costing cutting move for the Kings. In that aspect, it makes sense. But they still gave up a very good player for practically nothing.