Lauri Markkanen
Getty
Lauri Markkanen
The Utah Jazz have been fined $100,000 by the NBA for player participation policy violations, according to ESPN Insider, Shams Charania.
The Jazz are being fined for failing to make forward Lauri Markkanen available to face the Washington Wizards on March 5th. Although this particular incident is cited, this fine is tied to several recent games, according to the report.
The NBA’s policy is specifically aimed at the availability of Markkanen, who’s been out since February 22. The former all-star has been out with what’s being called a back injury, but the NBA has doubts, which led to the fines.
The Policy, which has been active since the 2023-24 season, was specifically designed to make sure teams promoted player participation in the league’s 82-game regular season, which will improve fairness and fan experience. The rule, as written by the NBA’s public relations, states that aside for a legitimate reason and communicated to the NBA, the offending team would be punished. The rule reads is as follows:
“More particularly, unless a team demonstrates an approved reason for a star player
not participating in a game, then it must comply with the rules set forth below.
Failure to do so will be a violation of this Policy.”
The rule itself was implemented by the NBA following the rash of players not playing for load management. Many fans and media persons were critical of players not playing often and believed it was responsible for the current state of the NBA. While many of these players could be out for legitimate reasons, and this is stated in the release, this was mainly directed at players and organizations who rested without a concrete reason.
This was also implemented to help the league fight against tanking, which is part of the reason Utah is believed to have been resting Markkanen. Utah, who has a 15-50 record, is among the front runners for Duke forward and likely first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, Cooper Flagg. Intentionally sitting star players like Markkanen could put them at an advantage to land the highly touted prospect.
Utah, in the midst of a rebuild, has numerous high-end talents but has yet to elevate its team since trading away star players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in 2022. The Jazz are trying to find their franchise core and their future but haven’t had the draft luck. In recent drafts, they’ve added Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Isiah Collier but have yet to find their centerpiece of the future, which the league believes could be an incentive to sit a star like Markkanen.
This is Utah’s first violation this season under the new player personnel rule. Their next violation will be a $250,000 fine.