NBA Punished Pacers, Jazz for Tanking While Wizards Won the Lottery

In the middle of February this season, the NBA released a statement, in which they fined both the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers for violating the league's Player Participation Policy (PPP) and for "conduct detrimental to the league".

Utah's fining was $500k and Indiana's was $100k. The Pacers were accused of holding out Aaron Nesmith for participating in a game, and the Jazz were sitting their best players in the fourth quarters, increasing their chances to lose.

While tanking is a problem and losing games on purpose is not good for business, why were the Pacers and the Jazz the only two teams penalized for their roles in "playing the system" to try and better themselves for a higher draft pick?

Recently, Brian Windhorst of ESPN, shared some interesting information about why the Washington Wizards agreed to sign Trae Young to a new four-year contract worth $212M with a 7.5% trade kicker:

Here’s the thing. They already promised Trae Young they were going to sign him when they traded for him. And the reason that they did that was because they needed him to not play. If he had played, they might have won a bunch more games and they might not have got the #1 pick.

And if you’re a free agent, the last thing you’re going to do is basically say you’re injured for six months. So, they told him, we’re going to take care of you. Trae already knew he was going to get paid.”
Brian Windhorst of ESPN

Well, isn't it funny how the league never investigated why Trae Young was sitting for the remainder of the season after getting traded to the Washington Wizards, a team that had clear aspirations to lose games on purpose.

The lineups Washington trotted out there on a night-to-night basis reeked of a tanking team, yet the league office didn't even sniff at fining them for their actions. However, they were completely fine with fining Indiana and Utah when their tanking decisions at the time were even less egregious? That's Adam Silver's NBA for you.

Kawhi Ballmer — Sep 30, 2024; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) talks with team owner Steve Ballmer during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

I mean, this is the same league office that allowed the Toronto Raptors to acquire Kawhi Leonard while he and the Los Angeles Clippers were currently under investigation for circumventing the salary cap.

How on Earth did the league let this trade get to the point where both teams agreed upon the deal in principle, only to share nine days later that the trade is on pause because of an issue that has been under investigation for nearly a year? And then say that the Raptors will be responsible for any punishments that are given to Leonard if they complete the trade, potentially letting the Clippers off the hook?

This is a clear misstep from the league office, and it continues to happen too often.

p Apr 29, 2014; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media regarding the investigation involving Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (not pictured) at New York Hilton Midtown. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the lottery results are what they are, and the Pacers lost their top-four pick, the problem is the inconsistencies with how things are handled and what franchises are penalized. The Pacers fining back in February felt like the league targeted them unfairly, when they were one of the few franchises during that time playing their best players unless they truly were out with an injury.

Now that the NBA Draft Lottery odds have been readjusted, thanks to 29 of 30 owners voting for the new rules, hopefully the amount of teams tanking will come down. But in reality, no matter what happens with the new reformed NBA Draft Lottery, the league has to tighten up their loose ends and be more consistent with how they handle their business.

At the end of the day, the NBA is a basketball league, but it is also a part of the entertainment industry. The league will go out of its way to ensure that the best possible product is being given to the consumer, but instead of being inconsistent with when they want to enforce rules (and when they don't), they need to treat all thirty franchises equally.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

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