The NBA fined the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers on Thursday over violations of its player participation policy, citing “conduct detrimental to the league.”
More specifically, the league fined the Jazz $500,000 and the Pacers $100,000 for perceived attempts to tank and lose intentionally in order to improve their draft lottery odds.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver also said that the league is seeking “to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
While ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins said that Silver should have fined each team $5 million for “disrespecting the game of basketball,” fellow analyst and former NBA executive Bobby Marks says he heard directly from a team that would be more than happy to pay whatever fines come down in order to secure a top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
“I had a team text me last night after this came out. It’s a team not in the lottery,” said Marks. “They said they would basically write a blank check if they had the opportunity to pick in the top three of this year’s draft here based on how good this draft is, based on what the fines could be here.
“This is the system. This is the system that the NBA has created,” he added. “This is the system that teams are following, whether it be Indiana or Toronto last year, or certainly with Utah. Other teams we’re probably going to see the next couple of days here.”
Formerly the assistant general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, Marks admitted he shared a similar mindset to that team’s, because that’s how NBA front offices have to think, so long as the system works the way it does.
“I’m part of the system because I remember here last week, we’re talking about Giannis and Milwaukee. I said, ‘You know what? The best thing for Milwaukee to do is rest Giannis for the rest of the season so they can get a good draft pick.’ But unless we fix that system, we’re going to always have that discussion.”
Last week, after the Jazz won a game despite taking most of their top players out for the entire fourth quarter, Marks said they were “messing around with the integrity of the NBA.”
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.