NBA imposes fines on Jazz ($500K) and Pacers ($100K) for resting players
On Thursday night, the NBA imposed a fine of $500,000 on the Utah Jazz and $100,000 on the Indiana Pacers for what the league described as “management of their rosters for recent games.”
The fine for the Jazz was attributed to their decisions during games against the Orlando Magic on February 7 and the Miami Heat on February 9. In these matches, Utah chose to rest key players Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson for the fourth quarter “despite the fact that these players were otherwise fit to continue and the outcomes of the games were still uncertain.”
In contrast, the Pacers breached the player participation policy in their game against the Jazz on February 3. The league’s investigation revealed that Indiana star Pascal Siakam and two other starting players who did not participate in the game “were capable of playing under the medical criteria outlined in the Policy, including the option of playing limited minutes. Alternatively, the team could have managed the players’ participation in other games to better align with the Policy.”
“Actions like this that favor draft positioning over winning compromise the essence of NBA competition, and we will take appropriate measures against any further actions that jeopardize the integrity of our games,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated in a release. “Moreover, we are collaborating with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to establish additional measures to eliminate this type of behavior.”
