The Dallas Mavericks were fined $750,000 Friday morning by the NBA league office for an apparent illegal resting on April 7 in a 115-112 overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Still alive to make the Play-In tournament before the game, the Mavericks announced that they would rest Kyrie Irving, Christian Wood, Josh Green, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Luka Doncic did play, but it was only for 13 minutes.
The goal? Secure their first-round pick. As a part of the trade with the New York Knicks that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas, the Knicks owned the Mavs’ first-round pick in 2023 as long as it did not fall in the top ten. With a successful tank job, the Mavericks hold the tenth-best odds to win the NBA Draft Lottery, securing their first-round pick as long as mayhem doesn’t occur in the lottery.
NBA Executive Vice President Joe Dumars said in a statement, “The Mavericks’ actions failed our fans and our league.â€
In an offseason full of questions, a $750,000 fine for the Mavericks is the least of their worries, as they’ll happily sign a check to keep their potentially top-ten pick.
