AT A PREGAME availability in Memphis against Utah in early March, the first question to Joerger was posed by Jazz beat writer Aaron Falk. What does Joerger think of Hood's game, and what specifically has surprised him?
Joerger looked like he had been pulled over for going 37 in a 35, annoyed but obligated to make nice. A couple of Memphis reporters giggled nervously.
"Did somebody ask you to ask that?" Joerger replied.
The notably candid Joerger gave an uncharacteristically canned response.
"He's a heckuva player and keeps getting better and better," Joerger said. "He's a good player."
Joerger paused, struggling to explain why he is playing this one so safely: "I don't really want to touch that. I've been told to stay away from that."
The truth is, Hood had become a vessel of Joerger's frustration with the Memphis front office over what he sees as an inability to assemble the right supporting cast and insufficient consultation with him on roster construction. Joerger loved Hood from the moment he emerged as a prospect for the 2014 draft: A long, rangy, high-IQ shooting guard who drained 42 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc at Duke.
The front office liked Hood too -- sources say he was next up on the draft board -- but just a smidge less than UCLA's Jordan Adams, another shooting guard with good range and creativity whom the Grizzlies ultimately selected with the No. 22 overall pick.
Adams has endured two knee surgeries and has yet to play meaningful minutes, while Hood has tormented Joerger.
In the final week of last season, Hood notched his fourth consecutive big game with 18 points in a narrow Memphis win.
"Love, love, love Rodney Hood," Joerger announced to the scrum. "I think he's going to be a very good player in this league."
Hood torched the Grizzlies for career-high 32 points in an overtime Jazz win in January. As if to rub it in, he drilled five of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc. No Grizzly had hit more than four 3-pointers in a game all season at the time.
"Too much Rodney Hood tonight," Joerger said postgame.
The Memphis brass is confounded by the idea that they're willfully ignoring the need for long-range shooting. Over the past few seasons, they've acquired Courtney Lee, Vince Carter, Matt Barnes and Mario Chalmers, each of whom has enjoyed varying degrees of success from deep. And they'll concede they haven't been as successful as they've needed to be on the margins.
"Of course we want shooters," says Ed Stefanski, Grizzlies executive vice president of player personnel. "An 'oh, s---' shooter would be a helluva weapon for us, but they're not easily had. It makes me laugh when people act like we're ignoring shooters. You think we're not looking?"
