5 Rodney Hood SG

Hood tallied 14 points (6-7 FG, 2-3 3Pt), three rebounds, and one steal in 25 minutes during Thursday's 127-118 victory over San Antonio.

Hood made his debut for the Trail Blazers, finishing with 14 points in 25 minutes off the bench. He soaked up a lot of the backup guard minutes, relegating Seth Curry to just seven minutes. This is likely what is to be expected from Hood moving forward, making him more of a deep league option.

While it's unclear if Hood will make his Blazers debut Tuesday against Miami, coach Terry Stotts indicated that he'll be a part of the rotation as soon as he's able to play, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports. "Obviously we got a player who can help us right away," Stotts said. "Rodney's a high-character guy. He's got good length on the wing, he can shoot mid-range and threes, (has) good length as a defender. So I think it helps our team. He'll come in and play right away."

Hood is still getting settled in his new home, so it's possible he could end up missing Tuesday's game, but he's expected to be in the rotation by Thursday (vs. San Antonio) at the latest. It's unclear whose minutes Hood will cut into, but his ability to play and guard three positions should give Stotts several options. Freeman speculates that Jake Layman could cede playing time to Hood, though the Maryland product has played well of late as the Blazers have climbed up the Western Conference standings. Hood will also battle Seth Curry, Moe Harkless and Evan Turner for minutes, and Stotts acknowledged that the addition of the former-Cavalier will entail an adjustment. "There's going to be a transition period for everybody," Stotts said. "When you trade two players who were not in the rotation for a guy who will be in the rotation, there will be a trickle-down effect. There's going to be an adjustment. But I'm comfortable enough with Rodney to know that he'll adjust well. It'll be gradual. We're still going to rely on our main guys and go from there."

Hood has been traded to Portland in exchange for Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and two future second-round picks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Hood was one, if not the most, pursued rotation wing players on the market heading into the trading deadline Thursday and he instantly gives Portland a upgrade at the small forward position. New teammate Maurice Harkless was averaging just 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds over 25 starts this season and Harkless could slide back into a backup role for the time being behind the newly-acquired Hood. With Cleveland this season, Hood was averaging 12.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during an underachieving season but will undoubtedly be granted more opportunities with a talented Portland roster moving forward.

Hood totaled18 points (5-9 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 6-6 FT), three assists and two steals across 27 minutes in Saturday's 124-102 loss to the Nuggets.

Hood saw his highest minutes total in almost a month, so it appears the cap imposed on Hood's usage may be coming to an end. Hood's Achilles injury has flared up periodically over the past two months but his 27 minutes on Saturday is a step in the right direction.