LOS ANGELES – Nearly a month after the NBA issued a $100,000 fine to the Indiana Pacers for resting key players in a regular season game, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle offered a vote of confidence on how the NBA will address tanking.
"I have full confidence in Adam Silver," Carlisle said of the NBA commissioner before Friday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. "This guy has the secret to being the ultimate leader. He's really like that. There are really smart people around him. They consider everything very carefully. They never react. They always think things through."
Carlisle's positive feelings about the NBA hardly match the way he expressed his feelings about the league last month.
The NBA fined the Pacers on February 3 after they fouled Pascal Siakam, Benedict Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith in a double-digit loss to the Utah Jazz. The Pacers acknowledged they sat Siakam and Mathurin for rest, but they listed Nesmith with a left hand strain. Despite this, the NBA concluded that the Pacers violated the league's "player participation policy" and all three players could play at least limited minutes. Carlisle also told 107.5 The Fan that the NBA refused to talk to the Pacers' doctors about Nesmith's injury. The NBA later invoked Carlisle's memory. "Wrong."
Carlisle doesn't have a direct impact on how the NBA addresses tanking. Last year, Carlisle resigned as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association in favor of Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Carlisle also no longer serves on the NBA's Competition Committee, which proposes rule changes on an annual basis. But with the Pacers (15–47) having the Eastern Conference's worst record, Carlisle unsurprisingly raised questions about tanking.
"My opinion doesn't matter. There will be changes based on what I understand from Adam," Carlisle said. “And they will be carefully considered.”
It remains to be seen how the NBA will consider the policies. The league office has held preliminary conference calls with the respective front offices of the 30 teams. During NBA All-Star weekend, Silver said he would consider punishing teams with the loss of draft picks. When the NBA has held meetings in the past about lottery reform, no one has proposed eliminating the draft. But that idea has not been completely rejected.
But when Carlisle served on the NBA's competition committee under both former NBA commissioner David Stern and Silver, Carlisle said, "at that particular time, it was determined that a lottery was the best way to move forward." Since its inception in 1985, the draft lottery has featured lottery odds based on the severity of a team's record. While that setup doesn't guarantee a struggling team the top pick, losing teams have a better chance of landing the top draft pick.
The Pacers are in trouble after All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder (49-15) last year. The Utah Jazz have focused on developing players and maximizing lottery odds after trading All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in separate deals during the 2022 offseason. The NBA also fined the Jazz $500,000 for fouling current veterans Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen for the entire fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic (February 7) and Miami Heat (February 9). The Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets have also suffered losing records, but the NBA has not penalized them for the way they managed their rosters.
Despite this, Carlisle strongly disputed that the current system indirectly harms coaches who are managing rosters built to lose.
"It doesn't hurt Mark Daigneault," Carlisle said of the former Oklahoma City Thunder coach.
That's because the Thunder won last year's NBA title partly by rebuilding through the draft. After trading Paul George to the Clippers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the 2019 offseason, the Thunder have missed the NBA playoffs to finish bottom of the Western Conference for three consecutive seasons (14th in 2021, 14th in 2021).th 10 in 2022th In 2023]. During that time, the Thunder have made key first-round draft picks, most notably in 2022. [Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams]. The Detroit Pistons (45-16) ended a six-year playoff drought last season after securing top talent through the draft in 2021 (Cade Cunningham) and 2023 (Aussie Thompson).
"You have the two best teams in the league – one in the East and one in the West who have built their teams almost the same way," Carlisle said. "I think Daigneault is a great example. He was a G League coach. But he built a relationship in that organization and a partnership. If he built those relationships and you become a real partner, the wins and losses, that's just my opinion, the win and lose element of it, won't be that kind of a factor."
What factors will be included in the NBA's plans to reform the lottery?
“All of those things will be carefully considered,” Carlisle said. "My job right now is not to think about what changes need to be made. My job is to manage the health of our team, the play of our team and the competitive spirit of our team."
This was a big topic of conversation. I was on the competition committee at the end of David Stern's tenure as commissioner and Adam wanted to have me at the beginning of his tenure. It was a hearty topic of conversation. At that particular time through all of this, it was determined that the lottery was the best way to move forward.
Mark Medina is an NBA contributor for SportsNut. follow him x, blue sky, Instagram, Facebook And threads.
