Perhaps the most difficult injury to return and recover from is a ruptured achilles, but not only has Rodney Hood put in the work off the court, he is also putting a tremendous amount of work on the court. The Portland Trail Blazers tweeted a video of the former Duke basketball player rising up to the rim, albeit in a controlled and cautious way as he works his way back to the court.
Rodney Hood Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: F
Born: 10/20/92
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:208 lbs. / 94.3 kg.
Salary: $5,718,000
Born: 10/20/92
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:208 lbs. / 94.3 kg.
Salary: $5,718,000
While lying on the court in pain after tearing his left Achilles tendon on Dec. 6, Rodney Hood began to contemplate his basketball future. “The initial thought is like, ‘Damn. Most guys used to retire after the Achilles injury,'” the Portland Trail Blazers swingman told ESPN this month. “Nobody really but Dominique Wilkins has come back to be the same person as he used to be or better; but now, more and more guys come back and they’re healthy.”
That small group has turned into something of a basketball fraternity, as players who’ve never been teammates find themselves connected by a shared experience. “I know guys look at me for advice,” Hood said. “I reach out to Kevin Durant or Wesley Matthews, DeMarcus Cousins … the guys who have been through it, and I just get confident more and more every day.”
Cousins, who was on the Los Angeles Lakers bench when Hood got hurt, reached out to offer his support. “I gave him a few days and I just sent a message,” Cousins said. “I know how tough those times are and your emotions are all over the place, but I just sent him a little message of saying basically I’m praying for him, I’m thinking about him, he’s on my heart, but when it comes to this journey, go through your dog days, it’s OK.”
Matthews expressed similar sentiments. “When Rodney reached out to me, I took that as a compliment that the hard work that I put in to coming back on the court had paid off with my play and health,” said Matthews, whose surgery was performed by the same doctor who operated on Hood and Cousins. “It is an extremely tough injury, both mind and body. Kobe Bryant reached out to me after I tore mine, and it was unbelievable, so I felt like I had a chance to not only pass my wisdoms, but his, as well, through what I’ve learned.”
Durant will text from time to time, asking, “Hey man. How are you doing? How is your mental [health] doing? Where are you in your rehab?” Durant tore his right Achilles in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals. He has missed the entire 2019-20 season so far and will not play even when the Brooklyn Nets resume their season in Orlando, Florida, in July. Hood also will remain out for the remainder of this campaign, even with the Blazers set to compete for a playoff spot.
Faced with an uncertain future due to the combination of his serious injury and the league’s shutdown, Hood, 27, turned back to his past: Duke University. The school where he played his final college season before entering the NBA draft in 2014 had begun offering online classes during the pandemic. Hood, who was eight credits shy of earning his degree when he left Duke, was urged to reenroll by his wife, Richa, who also played basketball at Duke before earning her degree in 2014.
Have any former Duke players given you advice on taking this next step? Cassius Stanley: Yeah, the brotherhood is really real. In the summer, even before going there, I ran with so many NBA players. I worked out a lot with Justise Winslow. I also worked out with Austin Rivers and Seth Curry and Rodney Hood. They were all great and telling me to go into it with the mindset of learning everything you possibly can from Coach because he knows exactly what he is talking about. That is exactly what I did. I came in as a sponge, just trying to soak everything I could.
What is unclear is whether Hood will be simply exercising his option at the $6 million rate, or whether he will seek an extension. Hood more or less brought up the extension scenario Tuesday, indicating that was the plan when he signed in July 2019. “When I signed back last year, it would be for me to sign back with Portland longer term, and that’s what I plan on doing,” Hood said Tuesday.
Whether his Achilles injury changes the Blazers’ intentions of a long-term contract is unclear. Neil Olshey, the Blazers’ president of basketball operations, said Tuesday that he cannot talk about player contracts. And Hood’s agent, Ty Sullivan, was vague Tuesday when asked if there are plans to pursue an extension or just pick up the player option. “I know Rodney loves Portland,” Sullivan said. “He was having a great year before he got hurt. He will have options.”
After his teenage brother Dorian tragically died of heart disease, Dawkins tapped into his basketball network to pay for a memorial and an AAU team in Dorian’s memory. He says he quickly raised more than a hundred thousand dollars from some of the most important people in the sport. His network mattered. Before long, NBA agent Andy Miller noticed Dawkins and hired him. Fast forward a few years and Dawkins is at the NBA draft, barely legal to drink, sitting in the green room with Miller and Elfrid Payton’s family. Rodney Hood, Fred VanVleet … Dawkins was instrumental in directing their careers, in the belly of the basketball beast. “Everybody knew Andy was paying players,” Dawkins says in “The Scheme.” “Andy’s been paying players since I was born. It wasn’t, like, a secret.”
So in general, how is the process of getting back on the court going thus far? Rodney Hood: Everything’s been going good, it’s been going smooth. I’m about seven weeks post-surgery and I’m moving along nicely. I’m in two shoes, doing weight-bearing things, lifting weights and stuff like that. I’m ahead of schedule right now and I’m healing up fast, so we’ll see where that takes me. But I’m just taking it day-by-day.
Those first days after the injury must be the most difficult part to get through. Rodney Hood: Yeah, there’s a lot of things that go through your mind at that time. I was very discouraged at first but I had a lot of positive people around me, a lot of people encouraging me and just reiterated that it was going to be a tough process but there’s a lot of people that’s with me. Once I got out of surgery, I just had a positive mindset. I’ve had a positive mindset every single day working towards getting back. That’s my only thought that’s going through my mind, no negative thoughts on my mind, just trying to get back. It’s been good so far.
What is a day like for you right now? Is it a full day of rehab? Rodney Hood: I have time off. The first month, I couldn’t do anything, I was just laying in bed. Now, I get up around seven, I come in and workout at eight. Some days I do the pool, some days I lift weights, do upper and lower body, getting that strength back. My day is not done at 10 — I finish that work around 10. Get some breakfast or something like that and then I do a lot of things at home trying to get strength back into my Achilles. I do it every single day. Six days-a-week rehabbing, been around Zach (Collins) which can make the process a little more terrifying, but it’s been good so far.
With the boot off, Hood will ramp up his activities. He doesn’t have a definitive timeline for when he’ll play again, but he’s optimistic he’s headed in the right direction. “I’ll continue to build strength with it, within my Achilles, and keep taking steps and passing my tests and checklists that I got,” he said. “I should be healing pretty fast, barring no setbacks.”
He said he talked with Kevin Durant, Joe Johnson and Wesley Matthews about the rehab process and picked their brains for tips on recovery and staying positive during an arduous rehab cycle. “Just to learn from the process,” Hood said of the advice he received. “Don’t think it’s going to be easy. It’s going to be a tough grind, but just learn about yourself throughout it. Don’t waste this time just sitting around, just learn about yourself. So I been doing that. I been doing a lot of reading, watching a lot of basketball, watching a lot of shows. So it’s been good. I’m spending a lot of time with my family. That’s been the best part about it.”
Adrian Wojnarowski: Cleveland and Utah have worked together on three trades since February of 2018, including that trade deadline three-way with Kings that included Jae Crowder and Rodney Hood. Jazz acquired Kyle Korver for Alec Burks and two second-round picks last November. The Jazz will send Cleveland a 2022 (via San Antonio) and 2023 (via Golden State) second-round picks, sources said.
NBA grants disabled player exception to Blazers
Adrian Wojnarowski: The Trail Blazers have been granted a $2.86M injury exception for Rodney Hood, league source tells ESPN.
The DPE will be worth $2.859 million and must be used by March 10 or it will go away. It can be used to sign a player on a one-year contract or expiring contract that fits into that slot. It cannot be aggregated with another player. But don’t expect Portland to use it right way. The team already has the highest payroll of any team in the league and faces huge tax penalties by increasing its payroll.
Shams Charania: The Portland Trail Blazers have applied for a disabled player exception worth $2.85M for the season-ending loss of Rodney Hood, sources tell @The Athletic @Stadium.
What does “disciplined” mean, exactly? “The discipline comes in that the starting lineup next year is Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Rodney Hood, Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic,” Olshey said. “And we are going to get there. Now, some of those guys will be back this year, and some won’t. But what we are not going to do is give away long-term assets that can help get this team to where we really want to be — and where we thought we were back in September — for some incremental upgrade today.”
They were not ha-ha-funny laughs. And they were not playful guffaws. Their laughs were more incredulous, those types of chuckles that come with a shake of the head and take the place of the words “can you believe this?” “We’ve been getting hit from every angle possible,” Kent Bazemore said. “Preseason on the road, 13 of the first 18 on the road, injuries. … I mean, it’s been a whirlwind.”
Even though he stands to gain from Hood’s injury — Hezonja will likely be one of the small forwards coach Terry Stotts turns to — Hezonja was consumed with the circumstances of Friday’s events. “I don’t even want to make a comment, that’s how bad I feel,” Hezonja said. “I mean, that’s Hoodie. From Day 1, he and I really bonded. You just don’t have teammates like that. He’s like a really outstanding person, so this really hurts me.”
Jason Quick: Feel so bad for Rodney Hood. Was having a great season and I’ve never seen him happier and more talkative inside the locker room. He was finally in his comfort zone. Then this: a torn Achilles.
Tom Orsborn: NBA L2M report for last night’s games concludes refs should have whistled Hood for a foul against DeRozan w/48.2 left. “Prior to the gather for the shot Hood (POR) extends his arm and makes contact with DeRozan’s (SAS) face during the drive,” the report stated. #Spurs
Casey Holdahl: Sounds like Rodney Hood (back spasms) will not play tonight vs. Kings.
Jay Allen: Terry Stotts says @Rodney Hood (back spasms) is feeling better today. Status for tomorrow night’s game at Sacramento TBD. #RipCity @RipCityRadio620
Jason Quick: Stotts says Rodney Hood is out, Hassan Whiteside will play and Skal Labissiere is being evaluated for tonight’s game vs. Atlanta
Responses were equally mixed about which recent superteam was more obnoxious, the Warriors or the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. “More the Warriors,” Hood says. “There wasn’t a lot of barking with the Heat. Seemed like they just had fun. It was different.” An Eastern Conference scout disagreed. “Heat were more divas,” he says.
Hood needed the ice because he banged knees with Philadelphia guard Ben Simmons with around 4:33 left in the game. When he fell to the court, the Blazers’ wing admitted he was scared. He dug his face into his forearm and lay motionless. “I couldn’t feel nothing,” Hood said “My whole knee felt swollen. I wasn’t thinking the worst — like, I didn’t think it was the end of my season — but I just wanted to see if I could put pressure on it.”
Back on the examining table inside the trainer’s room, team doctors poked, pushed and extended the knee. They determined there was no structural damage, and wrapped the knee in ice. “Hopefully, just knee to knee,” Hood said. “A bruise. And hopefully the swelling goes down. I think I will be fine … I don’t think nothing weird is going on.”
The two-day camp, held on Monday, Aug. 26, and Tuesday, Aug. 27, was arranged by Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy. The sessions featured a mix of superstars and younger players on the rise, according to sources: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Tobias Harris, Aaron Gordon, John Collins, Buddy Hield, Isaiah Thomas, Rodney Hood, Josh Hart, Jordan Clarkson, Norm Powell, OG Anunoby, Bobby Portis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Portland gets a starting caliber center on an expiring deal as it awaits Jusuf Nurkic’s return from a serious leg injury. Blazers offseason: Whiteside, Kent Bazemore, retain Rodney Hood and draft Nassir Little. Another Western contender loading up.
Dwight Jaynes: Hood will get $6 million the second year with the player option… very livable deal for Portland.
