Insider accuses Utah of jeopardizing the “integrity” of the NBA by throwing late in the game

ByNBAUSA



The The Utah Jazz are trying to walk a very fine line for the remainder of the 2025-26 NBA season.

On the one hand, the team clearly wants to put a bow on its rebuilding process in a major way, because traded three picks and multiple former prospects to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jaren Jackson Jr.but the Jazz really want to go all in on their playoff quest next season, as they could still add another lottery pick to a roster that looks ready to compete thanks to Laura Markkanen, Keyont George and company if they have a bad enough record.

This strategy has its cake and eat it too, and it forced Will Hardy, one of the NBA’s better coaches, to bench his starters in the fourth quarter and avoid calling timeouts when he could easily set his players up for success, even if the strategy didn’t always work, as evidenced by the team’s results. an unlikely win over the Miami Heat.

Is the NBA cool with this iteration of tanks? According to ESPN Front Office insider Bobby Marks, the answer should be a resounding no, as he believes the Jazz are actually “tampering with the integrity of the NBA.“

“I think what Utah is doing right now is messing with the integrity of the NBA. Being able to sit players, starters, in the fourth quarter, not call timeouts in the fourth quarter,” Marks said. “Orlando won the game on Saturday because they basically rested players. It backfired on them last night. So I think if you’re a league, you’re looking at it, okay, can we do some tricks, can we change the protection, eliminate the protection as far as the pick or can we put the hammer down?”

After losing 15 of their 18 games before the 2026 trade deadline, the Jazz are 1-2 since acquiring JJ from the Grizzlies, including a loss to the Orlando Magic where the new No. 20 played 25 minutes in his Utah debut. While the Jazz may be able to rack up the losses down the stretch, with 29 games left to play, if things get downright comical, Adam Silver may have to make another change in NBA policy to maintain the integrity of the game.





2026-02-11 00:04:00

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