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The Sixers’ plan to keep Joel Embiid healthy has resulted in its first ruling from the league.
The NBA fined the Sixers $100,000 on Tuesday for public statements made by coach Nick Nurse and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey about Embiid that violated the league’s player participation policy.
An investigation into the matter began last week after Embiid and fellow star player Paul George were ruled out of the team’s first slate of regular-season games. The Sixers didn’t say that Embiid had been injured since returning from the Paris Olympics, which raised the question of whether they were violating league policies.
Morey and Nurse said Embiid was ramping up and preparing to be game-ready, but didn’t indicate that the 7-foot center was injured.
The NBA said in its announcement that its investigation confirmed Embiid hasn’t been able to play due to a left knee condition, which means his absences haven’t violated policy.
On Tuesday, the Sixers said Embiid and George returned to practice, but Nurse declined to answer any questions about it when meeting with reporters.
The NBA unveiled its new policies ahead of last season as a way to combat load management and give players incentive to not sit games out. The policy ties the minimum number of games played to players being eligible for regular-season awards such as MVP and All-NBA, which come with big financial bonuses.
Additionally, the league introduced rules that said teams can’t bench multiple star players at the same time if they’re healthy, while mandating they must play in nationally televised games and in-season tournament games if they’re not injured. The league defined a star as a player who has made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the last three seasons.
The Sixers’ fine was for first-time offenders. Second-time offenses cost $250,000. The third offense is $1.25 million, and all subsequent offenses would result in a $1 million fine.
