Report: NBA Board To Vote On Rule Change For Load Management
Sep 11, 2023, 1:08 PM
Paul George #13 and Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The NBA Board of Governors plans to vote this week on how to address the growing problem of load management during the regular season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the plans for this week’s vote on social media.
“The NBA’s Competition Committee has recommended stricter guidelines on resting players for national television games and multiple stars together in the same games,” Wojnarowski posted. “The league’s Board of Governors expected to vote Wednesday to pass the measures.”
ESPN Sources: The NBA's Competition Committee has recommended stricter guidelines on resting players for national television games and multiple stars together in the same games. The league's Board of Governors expected to vote Wednesday to pass the measures.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 11, 2023
The league would introduce a steep fine structure that punishes teams who rest multiple stars on the same night during the regular season.
“Under new rules, teams would be fined $100K for a first violation, $250K for a second violation and $1 million more than the previous penalty for each additional violation, sources tell ESPN,” Wojnarowski added.
The NBA has been fighting to get its star players on the floor more regularly throughout the regular season as teams have begun resting top talent in the name of “load management.”
The Athletic’s Shams Charania elaborated on which players would be affected by Wednesday’s vote.
“Under current discussions among team and league personnel, a star is defined by someone who’s made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons, sources said.”
NBA Has Tried To Address Load Management In Past
This isn’t the NBA’s first attempt to fix the growing issues or resting key players.
Dating back nearly a half-decade the league has instituted rules that would fine teams who rested healthy players during national broadcasts or road games.
However, the league was forced to relax its standards during the COVID-19 pandemic with a highly condensed schedule and more players missing games due to illness and out of precaution.
Under current discussions among team and league personnel, a star is defined by someone who's made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons, sources said. https://t.co/2WBe1BPrUG
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 11, 2023
“I think part of injury avoidance means how players are treating their bodies year-round, how teams are interacting with players year-round, and using the best data to conclude what will allow players to stay healthy,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said during the All-Star break in Salt Lake City in February.
“We think we can do a better job, but we don’t have a specific solution yet.”
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
