Jazz Owner Defends Team After $500,000 Tanking Fine From NBA

The Jazz top brass are defending their decision to sit players in the fourth quarter after they received a hefty fine from the league.

On Thursday, the NBA fined the Jazz $500,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league,” referencing two games (Feb. 7 vs. the Magic and Feb. 9 vs. the Heat) where Utah benched Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter “even though these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt.”

The Jazz ultimately lost to Orlando, who outscored Utah by 10 in the fourth quarter despite the Jazz holding a 7-point lead entering the final frame. But Utah still won their game over Miami, 115–111, and outscored the Heat by 1 in the fourth.

“Agree to disagree,” Jazz owner Ryan Smith tweeted. “Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense.” 

Jazz head coach Will Hardy said Thursday that he sat Markkanen in the fourth quarter of the two games because he was “on a minutes restriction.” Markkanen last made the All-Star team in 2022–23, which puts him within the league’s definition of a “star” under the league’s Player Participation Policy. 

The NBA also issued a $100,000 fine to the Pacers for violating the Player Participation Policy after sitting All-Star Pascal Siakam and two other starters against the Jazz on Feb. 3. The policy focuses on star players, which the league defines as players who have made the All-Star Game or All-NBA team in any of the previous three seasons. 

The league says the policy is in place to protect “the interests of fans, integrity of the game, player health, competitive fairness among teams, and transparency.” 

Teams that violate the Player Participation Policy are penalized $100,000 for a first offense, $250,000 for a second offense, and at least $1 million for subsequent offenses. The Cavaliers have already incurred $350,000 in fines for two separate violations. 

Because Utah’s violation did not fall under the Player Participation Policy, the team was immediately fined $500,000. 

Hours before the NBA issued the fine, the Jazz announced that Jackson Jr. would miss the remainder of the season to undergo surgery to remove a growth in his left knee. The team said the growth was discovered during his post-trade physical.

Jackson Jr. played three games with the Jazz before the injury announcement.

The Jazz have an 18–38 record, sixth-worst in the NBA. The Pacers are 15–40, the fourth-worst record in the league. They are far from the only teams that appear to be tanking, as teams like the Wizards (14–39) and Nets (15–38) have also made decisions geared towards improving their draft lottery odds.

Other than the Player Participation Policy, the NBA has instituted other changes in recent years in an attempt to curb tanking. The league flattened the draft lottery odds in 2019 and added the Play-In Tournament during the 2020–21 season. 

But the changes have done little to discourage teams from fielding rosters ostensibly built to lose.

The NBA is reportedly considering new changes also aimed to curb taking, including not allowing teams to draft in the top four in consecutive seasons.

“We are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a press release Thursday.