Earlier this month, the NBA fined the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for “violating the Player Participation Policy in connection with the team’s game against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3.” On the second night of a back-to-back, Indiana sat All-Star Pascal Siakam as well as Bennedict Mathurin (who was traded within days), T.J. McConnell, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith for the game (a loss to the Jazz). The league said that, in consultation with an independent physician, it determined that Siakam and two others could have played, although possibly in reduced roles.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle didn’t hold back when addressing the fine during a radio appearance on 107.5 The Fan on Tuesday (hat tip The Athletic).
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“I didn’t agree with it. There was a league lawyer that was doing the interview that kind of unilaterally decided that Aaron Nesmith, who had been injured the night before and couldn’t hold the ball, should have played in the game, which just seems ridiculous.
“During the interview process – I was not on it, but I heard details – we asked them if they wanted to talk to the doctors, our doctors, about it because it was something that was documented by our doctors and trainers. They said no, they didn’t need to. They talked to their doctors, who did not examine Aaron Nesmith. And we asked them if they wanted to talk to (Nesmith), and they said, no, they didn’t need to.
“This was shocking to me. And during the interview, they also asked if we considered medicating him to play in a game when we were 30 games under .500. So I was very surprised. Obviously didn’t agree with it.”
As you might expect, a league spokesman had a different spin on this when Sam Amick of The Athletic reached out.
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“Coach Carlisle’s description of the process that went into the decision to fine the Indiana Pacers is inaccurate. An independent physician led the medical review. In addition, the Pacers’ general manager and the team’s senior vice president (of) sports medicine and performance were interviewed as part of the process. The Pacers confirmed that it had provided all of the information requested by the league and the team reported that an interview with Coach Carlisle or a team physician wasn’t necessary.”
Two thoughts on this.
First, what Carlise accurately sums up is the vibe around the NBA — the league’s approach to limiting tanking is random. Scattershot. Utah and Indiana (and likely a couple of teams in the future) will be hit with fines, while other teams sit out stars — with what seems, from the outside, to be very slow-healing injuries (to be generous) — and go unpunished. I have no doubt that the league feels there is an internal logic and they are following the CBA, but outside the New York NBA HQ, the feeling is Utah in particular (because they played stars but sat them in the fourth quarter), but Indiana as well, were singled out for things a whole bunch of other teams are doing. Utah basically said, “Okay, we’ll play your game,” and came up with surgeries for Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic that will sit two key rotation players for the remainder of the year.
Second, if the price for Indiana of a top-four pick is a $100,000 fine, they will pay it with a smile. That is the price of doing business. Utah will feel the same way about a $500,000 fine.
