The NBA has issued the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers fines related to the management of their respective rosters in recent games.
The Jazz were fined a whopping $500,000 — one of the largest ones the league has ever issued — for conduct detrimental to the league after a review of how the team handled star players Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. In games against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 7 and Miami Heat on Feb. 9, both Markkanen and Jackson were pulled from the court prior to the start of the fourth quarter, and did not play again. Utah carried a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter against Orlando, yet fell, 120-117. The Jazz were up three points entering the final quarter against the Heat, but pulled out a 115-111 victory.
The Pacers on the other hand were fined $100,000 for violating the Player Participation Policy during a Feb. 3 matchup against the Jazz. An investigation revealed that star forward Pascal Siakam and two other starters who did not play could have participated under the medical standard in the policy. In its press release, the NBA said the Pacers could have held the players out of other games that would have been in compliance with its policy.
“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,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
Entering Thursday night, the 18-37 Jazz ranked third-worst in the West, while the 15-40 Pacers ranked second-worst in the East. Both teams are far outside of playoff contention and will be in the NBA Draft lottery, however, each of the three worst teams in the league have a 14% chance to win the top pick and currently the Pacers are fourth-worst and the Jazz are sixth-worst overall.
