CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers swingman Rodney Hood apologized to general manager Koby Altman on Tuesday for declining to enter a 128-93 blowout win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, a team source told ESPN.
Hood "feels awful," according to the source, and he plans to apologize to his teammates and coaching staff in person as soon as they get back together after a couple of days off following a sweep of the Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
As first reported by The Athletic, Hood refused to check into Game 4 when Cavs coach Tyronn Lue attempted to sub him in during a timeout with 7:38 remaining in the fourth quarter and Cleveland up 110-80.
While The Athletic reported that several of Hood's teammates were "angered" by his decision and that the organization could consider suspending him, a team source told ESPN on Tuesday that suspending Hood was "not even a thought."
Hood, 25, was acquired from the Utah Jazz in February when the Cavs revamped their roster with a series of trades
Lue said he met with Hood in the days leading up to Game 4 and had a "good talk" about his role on the team.
"Rodney, he could be better. He knows that," Lue said during his pregame remarks Monday. "Just need him to be aggressive."
He didn't mean passive-aggressive, however.
Hood explained to Altman, according to a team source, that he said something to the effect of, "I'm good, I'm fine, play the other guys," when asked to go in Monday. The Cavs are not viewing Hood's decision as an "act of defiance," the team source told ESPN, and Lue did not take it as a personal slight.
After his trade to the Cavs, Hood averaged 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21 regular-season games. He will be a restricted free agent this summer, and his playoff performance through the first two rounds hasn't helped boost his value on the open market.
Hood was Cleveland's starting 2-guard to open the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, but the Cavs lost 98-80 in Game 1 and Lue changed up his starting lineup afterward, playing Kyle Korver with the first unit and bringing Hood off the bench. Hood ended up averaging 6.3 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.0 assist in 18.9 minutes per game against Indiana.
His role diminished in the second round against the Raptors, as he averaged just 0.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 13.0 minutes per game. In Game 4, rookie Cedi Osman leapfrogged Hood's spot in Lue's rotation for the first time this postseason; Osman filled in with five points on 2-for-5 shooting, two rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes.