[UPDATE 1/21]
The Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls continue to have dialogue around Nikola Mirotic. Rodney Hood’s name has come up in a possible exchange for the Chicago Bulls stretch 4.
One western conference exec I heard from says #Jazz have talked about a couple trade scenarios with #Bulls with 1 involving Derrick Favors & another with Rodney Hood, but both players will be looking to get paid this summer as FA's & CHI Reps want to keep cap flexibility open.
— Carlos Douglas Jr. (@TheRealC_Los) January 20, 2018
[UPDATE 1/20]
The Salt Lake Tribune's Tony Jones is confirming the reports from Zach Lowe and Marc Stein while adding that it's expected that Rodney Hood will be playing the rest of the season with another team after the NBA Trade Deadline.
Rodney Hood may not be with the Utah Jazz for the long haul.
Multiple league sources tell The Tribune that the Jazz have increased efforts to move the shooting guard before the NBA’s Feb. 8 trade deadline, and there is enough interest throughout the league that Hood likely will be with another team for the remainder of the season.
With the deadline a little less than two weeks away, Hood joins starting big man Derrick Favors as Jazz players who are available.
Hood is averaging a career-high 16.7 points per game this season. He’s shooting 38.6 percent from 3-point range, and he’s shooting 41.3 percent overall.
But Hood, who views himself as an starter, was sent to the bench for Donovan Mitchell earlier in the season. He’s missed nine games with various injuries, and his status as a restricted free agent this summer elicits uncertainty over his long term future.
The Utah Jazz roster is going to look very different after the next couple weeks. At a time when wingman are at a premium in the NBA, they are selling while the market is desperate for them. This could end up being a positive as they can receive an overvalued offer for Rodney Hood and setup their team for the future.
[UPDATE 1/19]
Zach Lowe of ESPN confirms the report from Marc Stein.
Have been hearing same. Utah is a team to watch at the deadline https://t.co/2UIRuT2Q5f
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) January 20, 2018
Get your popcorn, ready. It’s going to be a show.
Right before tonight’s New York Knicks and Utah Jazz ESPN game, Marc Stein has to spoil all the fun and drop a trade rumor. Marc Stein of the New York Times is reporting that many league sources around the league believe that the Utah Jazz could be moving Rodney Hood before the trade deadline.
There is a growing belief in league personnel circles that Utah could move swingman Rodney Hood before the Feb. 8 trade deadline ... with multiple teams expressing interest
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 20, 2018
This has been a bit of a known secret as the Utah Jazz have a rising star with Donovan Mitchell and are looking toward the 2018 offseason trying to figure where a Rodney Hood extension fits in with their salary cap space and future plans. It appears that Utah is very active this deadline and is ready to make up for a disappointing summer offseason in which they lost both George Hill and Boris Diaw Gordon Hayward.
In the meantime ... at least we’ll have this.