The Board of Governors has officially approved the new regulation on load management. We have already detailed it but the NBA will therefore heavily sanction (100,000 dollars for the first offense, 250,000 dollars for the second offense, and 1.25 million dollars from the third offense) the teams which will put their stars resting for matches broadcast on the national TV network, or during the “NBA Cup”.
There is also no question of resting two stars during the same regular season match, even if there will be exceptions for players over 35, or who are returning from injury.
ESPN also specifies that the NBA will strengthen its vigilance on other points. Thus, it will sanction teams who rest their stars during away matches, if they play at home just before. That was the case for the Warriors, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green facing the Pacers at Chase Center on December 5, but all missing the game in Salt Lake City two days later.
Make the window sparkle
The league will also continue to apply its sanctions to teams that rest their stars, if they are not present on the bench and visible to the public. Again, the first fine will be $100,000, the second $250,000 and the third $1.25 million.
Finally, the NBA will also look much more seriously at “diplomatic injuries”, with stars who miss the entire end of their team’s season, for example, when the playoffs are out of reach. Bradley Beal’s 10-game absence and Damian Lillard’s 11-game absence at the very end of last season would have been the subject of an investigation if the future regulations had already been in place at the time.
Faced with increasingly frequent layoffs, Adam Silver and the NBA have therefore decided to interfere in the choices of franchises, primarily to preserve the matches broadcast on ESPN, ABC and TNT. The Great League wants to make its showcase shine as much as possible and the teams will have to adapt from next season onwards…
