Getty Nuggets star Jamal Murray
The fact Jamal Murray was ruled eligible to play in Friday night’s Game 3 between Denver and Minnesota is angering a large swath of people who don’t identify as Nuggets players, employees or fans.
The star guard was fined $100,000 by the NBA for throwing first a towel, then a heating pack at veteran referee Marc Davis, whose calls were not agreeable to Murray. The throws were made from the Denver bench, with the towel coming to a stop before it reached Davis, who had his back to the situation during a free throw. The hydrocollator pack was thrown while the ball was in play.
It was kicked aside before any damage was done, but it was clearly possible it could have tripped a player and caused injury.
The NBA reportedly chose fine over suspension because Murray did not have a history of trouble, but some league sources believe there was something larger at play as the Nuggets took an 0-2 series deficit into Minnesota.
NBA Decision to Protect TV Interests ‘A Bad Look’
“We all know what’s going on here,” said one team executive. “And it’s a bad look. This was about protecting the TV audience for the next game — or games.”
Added another front office source, “You’re supposed to prioritize the safety and integrity of your referees. They should not be assaulted. They should not be made to feel intimidated or victimized while they’re working their job. And you have to protect the health and safety of the players.
“Well, what you just said by fining Jamal Murray $100,000 is that we’re prioritizing the ratings at ESPN for that big game they have for Friday night over both the referees and the players.
“So at this point, who’s happy? The referees and the referees’ union should be pissed, and so should the players and the Players’ Association. Can you imagine if some player had stepped on that hydrocollator and suffered a serious injury? I guarantee you there would have been a suspension then.
“But who’s happy? ESPN’s happy. ESPN got their game. They’ve got a playoff game of great interest on a Friday night in prime time.”
Nuggets’ Jamal Murray Could Have Hurt Someone
One player told Heavy Sports that it’s a touchy issue for those in uniform.
“You don’t ever want to go against another player when it’s between him and the league office, but this would have been a whole lot different if someone had gotten hurt,” he said. “Jamal’s a good guy. That’s his rep around the league. And it’s always tough when a guy loses it like that in the moment. But I can’t tell you what I would have done if one of my teammates had tripped over that heating thing and got hurt bad.”
There is also a feeling in the upper reaches of some clubs that, while owners who essentially hired commissioner Adam Silver are pleased with his overall stewardship, some of his rulings have been a bit too player-friendly.
“I do think that Adam Silver is going to start to get some pushback from owners at some point about leaning too much for the stars,” one club official told Heavy Sports. “The stars, they dictate a lot in this game. They get coaches fired. They get paid a lot of money. But there’s a point where the pendulum swings too far and they’re running the asylum. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out from here.”