Utah Jazz fined for ‘compromising integrity’ of NBA bench of healthy players
Making the playoffs looks unlikely for both the Jazz, who are 13th in the Western Conference, and the Pacers, who are sitting in 14th place in the East, and it appears that thoughts are already turning to next season and how their rosters will be constructed.
Utah led by nine points in the fourth quarter against Orlando on Feb. 8, but lost 120-117, before beating Miami 115-111 two days later.
“Agree to disagree. Also, we won a game in Miami and got penalized? That makes sense,” Utah owner Ryan Smith posted on social media.
Coach Hardy defended his decision to bench Markkanen, and Utah also announced that Jackson Jr. will have season-ending knee surgery after this weekend’s All-Star games.
“I sat Laurie because he was on a minutes restriction,” Hardy said. “So if our medical team limits Laura to minutes, I’ll try to keep Laura healthy.
Utah were also fined $100,000 (£73,000) last season for resting Markkanen for multiple games.
The Pacers were fined for violating the player participation policy after a league investigation found that Pascal Siakam and two other players who sat out the game “were able to play” even if it was “reduced minutes.”
The policy was introduced in 2023 in an attempt to discourage teams from losing on purpose to improve their chances in the draft lottery.
2026-02-13 08:20:00
