We warned that NBA commissioner Adam Silver will soon come down on teams that rest their marquee players for national TV games without advance notice. That time may be here.
In a memo obtained by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Silver told NBA owners there will be “significant penalties” for teams that fail to give the league “adequate notice” a key player will be rested for a game. Silver also said the owners cannot simply delegate the responsibility of resting players to other members of the organization.
Just how severe will those penalties be if Silver follows through on his warning? In 2012, then-commissioner David Stern fined the San Antonio Spurs a whopping $250,000 for sending Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green home for a TNT game against the Miami Heat.
The memo comes after the league’s two marquee teams sat their top stars for consecutive ABC Saturday showcases. The Golden State Warriors sat Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala for a March 11 game against the San Antonio Spurs. Warriors coach Steve Kerr justified the decision by noting the Warriors were at the end of a grueling travel schedule that featured eight games in eight different cities in 13 days. All four players are on pace to play in at least 80 of the 82 regular season games.
"It's my call and it's the right thing to do in terms of the way the season is playing out and the way the minutes have gone and (Kevin Durant's) injury," Kerr said when announcing the decision. "It's the right thing to do, so we're doing it."
A week later, the Cleveland Cavaliers sat LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love for a game against the Clippers in Los Angeles. The Cavaliers were just beginning a four-game road trip and had a back-to-back in the same city against the Lakers the next day. Irving picked up a minor injury two days prior and Love is still not playing back-to-back games as part of his recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery. James has no injury, though he has logged heavy minutes as he does every season.
The playing career for Earvin 'Magic' Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers covered 12 seasons from 1980-1991. The Lakers averaged 58 wins per season for a winning percentage of .741 and won five NBA titles. Magic was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time, earning three regular season MVP and three NBA Finals MVP Awards. Johnson became the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP award, and his clutch performance is still regarded as one of the finest in NBA history. He also became one of four players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.
The first move by Magic Johnson since taking over as President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers in mid-February was made for the future by trading sixth man Lou Williams to the Rockets for Corey Brewer and a first-round pick. Sports Illustrated:
Really, Williams was worse than useless in LA, he was counterproductive. Every foul he drew, every four-point play he converted, and every 20-point outburst increased the chances that the Lakers don’t retain their top-3 protected first-round pick. This year, Williams is averaging a career-best 18.6 PPG and shooting a career-high 38.6% on threes, and the Lakers’ offensive efficiency rating has jumped from 98.9 to 108 when he’s been on the court.The next move was to shut down veterans Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov for the rest of the season. Forward Deng, 31, and center Mozgov, 30, are healthy, but the Lakers want to give more minutes to the younger players over the final regular season games. Deng and Mozgov were free agent acquisitions last summer, signing contracts worth a combined $136 million over four seasons.
The team has managed but two wins in 27 games for a sparkling 0.925%. There are six games remaining in this dream season. Let us hope the commissioner can make it to see the finale on Wednesday, April 12@ Golden State 10:30 PM. Will he have an issue if Golden State rests its entire starting lineup? A bigger issue may be that 1,068 tickets are available from $92.00 and up.
Magic Johnson: My 'Showtime' Lakers would beat the Warriors. I don't know about that, but 69 year old center Kareem Abdul Jabbar would have a field day against these present day Lakers. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver should be more worried about the integrity of the game than some poor fan not getting to see an unrested superstar.
Paul Murphy
Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy
Is the dude a dictator? Maybe he can coach all of the teams as well. Thanks, Paul.
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