The NBA fined the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for violating the Player Participation Policy after sitting Pascal Siakam (and two other starters) in the second game of a back-to-back against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3. NBA commissioner Adam Silver made it clear in the news release and during public comments Saturday afternoon that it was due to the Pacers tanking to get a better draft pick.
Siakam spoke publicly on the topic for the first time to Sirius XM:
“I don’t know what that comes from,” Siakam said. “I play almost every game. I play the most minutes. I’m the guy who wants to be on the court. I want to play. I sat in games when the medical side said, ‘You need to sit. It’s better for your body.’ I don’t think it’s any more than that.
“Every time I’m on the court, I’m trying to win.”
As an all-star or All-NBA player within the three previous seasons, Siakam is subject to the Player Participation Policy. The Pacers’ violation appears to be in relation to this aspect of the policy:
“The league office (and the Independent Physician as necessary) will (1) review medical information, (2) interview key team personnel, and if necessary, the player, and (3) consider the circumstances of (e.g., player’s injury history, team’s schedule, standings, public comments, participation in other games, etc.).”
Siakam leads the Pacers in minutes played (1,723) and is third in games (51), missing four. He’s 24th in the NBA in total minutes played, 8th among All-Stars.
Silver said Saturday that the league’s competition committee is looking at making changes to how the top draft picks are assigned, including options other than the lottery. The NBA went to a lottery system in the 1980s. Currently, the worst three teams get a 52.1% chance at a top-four pick and 14% at the No. 1 selection, with the fourth worst team at 48.1% and 12.5%. It is one of the changes Silver said was an effort to “try to stay ahead of the behavior of some of our teams.”
Silver acknowledged the incentives of the lottery can make it beneficial to lose games and that some teams’ fans root for their teams to have a worse record to acquire a better draft pick.
The Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles tendon tear in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last season then suffered several more injuries to open the season. They went 9-9 in the final 18 games before the All-Star break but are 15-40 overall, the fourth-worst record in the NBA.
“The Competition Committee started earlier this year reexamine the whole approach to the draft lottery,” Silver said. “It would have to go to a vote of the board of governors but there have been a lot of different ideas over the year, not just changing odds but looking at if there is a better system.”
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
