Cavaliers won’t discipline Rodney Hood for reportedly refusing to enter Game 4

The Cleveland Cavaliers will not fine or suspend forward Rodney Hood for refusing to enter Game 4 of the NBA playoffs against Toronto, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press.

Hood feels bad about Monday night’s incident, which happened with 7:38 left in the fourth quarter, and he expressed remorse on Tuesday to team officials about becoming a distraction, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

The person said disciplinary actions against Hood “were never a consideration.”

The Athletic first reported that Hood had angered teammates and others in the organization by rejecting coach Tyronn Lue’s instruction to enter the game. With Cleveland leading by 30 points over the Toronto Raptors and on its way to sweeping the series, the Cavaliers called timeout to replace superstar LeBron James. Lue told Hood to check in but he refused, and guard Jose Calderon peeled off his warmup and jogged to the scorer’s table. The AP observed at least one assistant coach shouting toward Hood.

Earlier in the game, rookie Cedi Osman came in with the second unit and played the minutes that had been going to Hood in Lue’s rotation.

Hood has struggled in the playoffs after being acquired in a Feb. 8 trade from Utah. The 25-year-old is averaging 4.6 points in 17 minutes and hasn’t looked comfortable in Cleveland’s offense.

Hood scored just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting in three appearances against the Raptors.

A first-round pick in the 2014 draft, he averaged 16.8 points with the Jazz but has never found his rhythm with Cleveland, which is back in the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth straight season.

Lue said he spoke with Hood at Sunday’s practice and that the 6-foot-8 left-hander understood his role.

“It’s been tough circumstances as far as the first round and playing now and getting spot minutes more than anything,” Lue said. “He could be better, he knows that. Just need him to be aggressive.”

Hood started Game 1 against Indiana in the first round of the playoffs, but after the Pacers beat the Cavs by 18, Lue changed his lineup. He swapped Hood with Kyle Korver and Cleveland regrouped, going 8-2 since the change.

Hood will be a restricted free agent this summer.

UPDATES:

10:40 a.m.: This article has been updated with background information.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.