In the era of alleged tanking and load management, trouble is brewing between the league office and its teams. With added attention paid to these issues, tensions can escalate. One NBA coach shared his opinion on the recent league ruling.
Indiana Pacers HC Rick Carlisle Rips NBA Inquiry Following Six-Figure Fine
On Feb. 19, the NBA fined the Pacers $100,000 for violating its Player Participation Policy. The policy was enacted to deter teams from engaging in roster management to sit star players in hopes of improving draft standing.
On Feb. 3, three Pacers starters, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith, missed the game against the Utah Jazz. This morning, Carlisle appeared on “The Fan Morning Show” on 93.5 The Fan (Indianapolis) to discuss his thoughts.
“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’ve played in the game, which seems ridiculous.”
Nesmith hasn’t played since last Thursday and is expected to miss another week. Yet, where Carlisle appears the angriest is in response to a specific request from the NBA.
“And we asked them if they wanted to talk to the kid, and they said no, they (the league doctors) didn’t need to. This was shocking to me. 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.”
Rick Carlisle today opening up about the NBA’s $100,000 fine of the #Pacers:
Full interview here: https://t.co/1rrz1gO1Ja pic.twitter.com/MgjmZFEPsH
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) February 24, 2026
In other words, Carlisle is accusing the league of asking teams to medicate players enough to get them out on the floor to play. In their initial statement, the league believed that players like Siakam could have played more.
Siakam missed the back-to-back games last Thursday and Friday with a left hamstring injury. He returned on Sunday, scoring 30 points against the Philadelphia 76ers. The team listed Siakam as doubtful for tonight’s matchup against Philadelphia with a left wrist sprain.
Before missing two games last week, Siakam played 89.65 percent of the Indiana game, missing the latter halves of back-to-back games.
Indiana wasn’t the only team the NBA fined. On the same day as the Pacers’ fine, the league fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 for benching standouts Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. during the fourth quarter of two games that ended up close.
As the coach mentioned, the Pacers are 15-43 and last in the Eastern Conference. Moreover, they are one of three teams with 15 or fewer wins, joining the Sacramento Kings and the Brooklyn Nets. In turn, if the record continues down this path, they could own a Top-5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
According to Tankathon, the Pacers could receive nothing lower than the No. 6 pick. At 14%, they share the highest odds of winning the draft lottery. The 2026 draft lottery will be held on May 10 in Chicago.
