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The pockets of the Dallas Mavericks will be a bit lighter after the NBA’s decision to fine the organization $750,000, as a result of the resting of several players for their April 7 meeting with the Chicago Bulls.
Both Kyrie Irving, who sat out the game altogether, and Luka Doncic, who sat the entire second half, were key players that the Mavs chose to rest in the must-win game.
The league shared an official statement on its decision to Twitter on Friday afternoon.
“The NBA announced today that the Dallas Mavericks organization has been fined $750,000 for conduct detrimental to the league in an elimination game against the Chicago Bulls on April 7,” the statement read. “The Mavericks violated the league’s player resting policy and demonstrated through actions and public statements the organization’s desire to lose the game in order to improve the chances of keeping its first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The league did not find that the players who participated in the game were not playing to win.”
Former Detroit Pistons star, now NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars said that the Mavericks “failed” the league’s fans, in a statement.
“The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to restrict key players from fully participating in an elimination game last Friday against Chicago undermined the integrity of our sport,” he said. “The Mavericks’ actions failed our fans and our league.”
Jason Kidd Shares Mavs’ Decision to Rest Key Players vs. Bulls
One of the clear-cut pieces of evidence that the NBA had to back their decision, was Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd outright saying that the organization decided to wave the white flag, prior to the April 7 loss.
“We were fighting for our lives, and understanding this is a situation we’re in, but the organization has made the decision to change,” Jason Kidd said via the “Dallas Morning News’” Brad Townsend. “So, you know, we have to go by that and that’s something that happens. So the guys that are playing, we got to go out there and put our best foot forward, and we talked about that this afternoon… And the guys that are playing are gonna go out and try to play to win. You gotta be pros. You can’t cheat the game.”
In hindsight, it may not have been the brightest idea for Kidd to essentially tell the public that Dallas was trying to punt the season.
Nico Harrison Remains Optimistic Kyrie Irving Will Stay With Mavs
It’s also pretty funny that Dallas decided to sit Irving in what could be his final two games in a Mavericks uniform.
The 31-year-old will become a free agent this summer, allowing him to sign wherever he pleases.
Mavs general manager Nico Harrison, doesn’t believe that Irving will land anywhere else but Dallas this summer. He told the media that he was optimistic that the star guard would stick around, during an exit interview earlier this week.
“I think the things he said along the way about how he feels here, how he feels appreciated, how he feels accepted, and allowed to be himself. I think those are the things he’s said kind of consistently, and that gives me the optimism that he wants to be here,” Harrison said via the Dallas Mavericks official YouTube channel.
