10:59am: Hood will not face a fine or suspension for refusing to enter Game 4 on Monday, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. According to Zilgitt’s source, Hood spoke to the Cavs’ front office on Tuesday morning, and the fourth-year guard “feels badly for causing a distraction” as Cleveland enters the Eastern Finals.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports that Hood intends to apologize in person to his teammates and the Cavs’ coaching staff as soon as possible.
8:51am: The Cavaliers finished off a four-game sweep of the Raptors on Monday night, returning to the Eastern Conference Finals for a fourth straight year. However, not all is rosy in Cleveland, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Lloyd hears from multiple sources that Rodney Hood refused to enter Monday’s game in the fourth quarter, angering some teammates and members of the organization.
With the Cavaliers up by 30 points with less than eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter, head coach Tyronn Lue wanted to insert Hood into the lineup in place of LeBron James, per Lloyd. However, multiple sources tell Lloyd that Hood refused to check in, even after multiple veterans huddled around him and talked to him. Jose Calderon eventually entered the game instead.
Hood, acquired by the Cavaliers in one of their trade-deadline deals, has been ineffective in the postseason, averaging 4.6 PPG on .396/.133/.750 shooting in 10 games (17.0 MPG). His struggles couldn’t come at a worse time — besides giving the Cavs little value during the team’s playoff run, he’s also less than two months from hitting the restricted free agent market.
According to Lloyd, Cavs GM Koby Altman plans to meet with Hood to get his side of the story and find out why he refused to enter Game 4. While it’s possible that Hood was dealing with a physical ailment, multiple people who witnessed the exchange tell Lloyd it looked more like “a young player pouting.” Lloyd speculates that a suspension isn’t out of the realm of possibility, adding that Hood may not maintain his usual rotation role going forward.
Obviously…. EVERYONE Else on the Team would have Known “IF” …. There was an Injury !!
Man.. why label yourself as a selfish player at this point in the season with free agency coming
The Cavs have had plenty of meltdowns this year, but this one may be favorable… he is making it easier for the Cavs to re-sign him!
I still think he should be repurposed as primarily a defensive stopper. That should help him to even out also. He is not liking missing open shots. Jeff Green has been doing that but recovering to get a few things done.
Osman is a bit quicker to act than Hood.
Nance and hill made sense to me but clarkson and hood are a downgrade from what they would’ve had
Make him an example. He sits the rest of the playoffs. If they could just replace him on the playoff roster, they should. He sucks anyway.
Not to just throw fire on speculation, but it did seem like the Jazz wanted him out of there. Obviously Crowder both fits better and is a long term add, Hood is going to be a restricted free agent, and Royce O’ Neale was ready to step in, but the Jazz seemed very eager to cut ties.
Hood is garbage.
Maybe he felt bad for the Raptors and thought the Cavs should have played with only 4.
He didn’t want to replace LeBron in LeBronto.
I like Hood as a player; he can shoot and defend at a high level and play both wing spots. But this incident will almost certainly hurt his FA market value more than either losing his starting job in Utah or not being able to win one with the Cavs. Each of the latter can be explained, and his numbers over 4 years speak for themselves. But the value of a player like him is tied to his versatility, and that’s neutralized if he’s going to have an attitude about how he’s used.
I agree 100%. Took the words right out of my mouse.
As if making millions per year isn’t enough to get in the game and play for a few minutes. This IS disturbing in a number of levels. As you say, his fa will suffer from this selfish action. He’s had plenty of chances to at least show he has potential. It’s on him all the way. James and company would be more than willing to help him to get to the next level. Korver has been helping several players with their shooting KLove helping with post moves etc.