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A minor move with medium implications today, as the Raptors announced they will push the contract guarantee date for Rodney Hood from July 27 to August 3. Hood has a team option for $10.85-million next season, which is unlikely to be picked up by Toronto.
Raptors and Rodney Hood have mutually agreed to push his guarantee date from today to Aug. 3 for his $10.85-million salary next year. Likely just Raps keeping options open for potential trades, with Hood acting as possible salary filler.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) July 27, 2021
The extra week is very much a time purchase for Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster, and the Raptors front office. From all angles of NBA reporting, it looks like Toronto is being aggressive in trade talks ahead of Thursday’s draft — keeping Hood around allows them to use him as a decent chunk of filler in any potential deal.
Hood was brought to the Raptors alongside Gary Trent Jr. from Portland in the Norman Powell deal. He has yet to find his form after an Achilles injury sidelined what was a promising 2019-20 campaign, where he started averaging 11 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 21 appearances. He made just 17 appearances for the Raptors after the deadline trade, averaging 3.9 points on 35.6 percent shooting, including 31.0 percent from deep.
Hood will be entering his eighth season in the NBA after being drafted out of Duke.