Both the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers are having rough seasons this year, and things just got worse for them. The league recently hit both teams with fines after they were caught sitting healthy players in what looked like intentional tanking moves.
Now, a former NBA champion is saying those penalties weren’t nearly enough. He wants Commissioner Adam Silver to go much harder on these teams.
Kendrick Perkins’ Recent Comment Regarding the Tanking Incident
Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins didn’t hold back during a recent segment on ESPN. He argued that these fines are basically pocket change for NBA franchises, and he urged Silver to send a real message by slapping both teams with a massive $5,000,000 fine.
“I wish Adam Silver would’ve fined them $5M for disrespecting the game of basketball. Let’s stop being nice about it and throwing out the word ‘tanking.’ No, it’s actually throwing games,” Perkins said during the segment.
Just a day ago, the NBA made an official announcement, and they revealed that both Utah and Indiana would be paying up for their recent actions. The Jazz got hammered with the bigger punishment. It was a $500,000 fine for what the league described as conduct detrimental to basketball operations.
Here’s what happened with Utah. During back-to-back games against Orlando on Feb. 7 and Miami on Feb. 9, the Jazz pulled a move that raised serious eyebrows across the league. They had two of their top guys, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., playing well through three quarters.
Then, right when the fourth quarter was about to tip off, both players were suddenly pulled from the game. Neither one came back to the floor. The thing is, both were completely healthy. The NBA saw right through it and called it what it was, like a deliberate attempt to lose games and improve their draft position.
The Pacers didn’t escape punishment either. Although they got off a bit easier with a $100,000 fine. Their situation happened during a Feb. 3 game against the Jazz. The league brought in independent medical experts to review the status of Pascal Siakam and several other Pacers players.
The doctors confirmed that all of them were medically cleared to play, even if it meant limited minutes or reduced roles. The NBA determined this violated their player participation policy, which exists specifically to prevent teams from strategically losing games.
If the NBA were to follow Perkins’ suggestion, it would result in the largest fine in league history. That record is currently held by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were fined $3.5 million in 2000 for illegally working around the salary cap to sign Joe Smith. A $5 million penalty would easily surpass that and set a new standard for discipline.
Whether the commissioner will take that advice remains to be seen.
