NBA makes statement about tanking with big fines for two teams

Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA sent a forceful message on Thursday about tanking, hitting the Utah Jazz with a $500,000 fine and handing the Indiana Pacers a $100,000 fine for recent game management and roster decisions, the league announced.

Utah’s fine was related to a Feb. 7 game against the Orlando Magic and Feb. 9 game against the Miami Heat.

‘During those games, the Jazz removed two of the team’s top players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., before the beginning of the fourth quarter and did not return them to the game, even though these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt,’ the NBA said.

Utah entered the fourth quarter of its Feb. 7 game with a 94-87 lead but scored just 23 points in the final frame and lost 120-117. It won the game against Miami, 115-111, and won Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings to move to 18-37 on the season, third-worst in the West.

The Pacers, the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference at 15-40, were found to be in violation of the Player Participation Policy for a Feb. 3 game against the Jazz, per the league statement.

‘Following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that Pascal Siakam, a star player under the Policy, and two other Pacers starters, neither of whom participated in the game, could have played under the medical standard in the Policy, including by playing reduced minutes. Alternatively, the team could have held the players out of other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the Policy,’ the NBA said.

The Pacers lost that game to the Jazz, 131-122.

The league’s statement on the fines was capped by a strong message directly from Silver.

‘Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,’ Silver said. ‘Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.’