It seems the threat of fines for resting players will do just what NBA commissioner Adam Silver hoped. Resting players in the NBA will be a lot more complicated, but teams that often sat stars in the past seem inclined to avoid the fines that Silver and the league installed for the upcoming season.
Silver announced the changes last week, which include fines of up to $100,000 for resting star players in nationally televised games or resting multiple players while on the road. The message here is clear: players should only sit if they are injured. And fatigue is not an injury.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were one such team that raised eyebrows when they rested players on multiple occasions last season, but head coach Tyronn Lue seems ready to follow the rules this time around. Lue told reporters after the rules changes were enacted that his team would work hard to avoid getting fined.
“That’s a lot of money wherever you’re at, $100,000,” Lue said Friday according to Cleveland.com. “That’s a big fine, but we’re going to try and play by the rules. You know, we’re going to try and rest at the right moments, and guys that get through it will try to get through it, but we’re going to abide by the rules.”
Lue said that the Cavs won’t make up player injuries ore skirt the rule by harshly limiting minutes of superstars in some games. The rules will be followed to the letter of the law.
Such rule, however, will be harder for some teams to follow than others. As Cleveland.com points out, the Cavaliers have 39 nationally televised games this season. That’s a lot of chances to get hit with a fine for giving someone like LeBron James a day off, if he were to request one.
