Several major Dallas players did not play against Chicago Jerome Miron / REUTERS
Dallas finds itself on the dock for having, perhaps, deliberately let slip the game against the Bulls last Friday.
The NBA will investigate the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to drop several key players in Friday night’s 115-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls when they still had a chance to advance to the Western Conference play-offs, it has been announced. the league on Saturday. “The NBA today opened an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the rostering and conduct of play decisions made by the Dallas Mavericks during the Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game…including the motives behind these actionsNBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
Mavs coach Jason Kidd said resting the majority of the regular rotation was a “organizational decisionattributing the choice to owner Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison. The Mavs rotated Saturday, resting Kyrie Irving (right foot injury recovery), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle pain), Josh Green (rest), Maxi Kleber (injury recovery right hamstring) and Christian Wood (rest).
Dallas wants to protect its 1st round draft pick
All-Star point guard Luka Doncic played the first 12 minutes and 35 seconds before remaining on the bench until the end of the match. But the league’s rules include measures against the “tankingwhich indicate that an owner cannotattempt to lose or control the score of a match“. The Mavericks were certainly not the only team not to play their best players on Friday, as several clubs vying for the play-offs rested their stars to avoid the risk of injury. But several NBA watchers suspected Dallas’ move was a deliberate attempt to protect its first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
Indeed, Dallas owes the New York Knicks a first-round pick, as final payment for the 2019 Kristaps Porzingis trade. But if the draft lottery determines they will have a top-10 pick, they don’t have to. not give it up to the Knicks. So yesterday’s loss, which hurts the Mavs’ overall record, gives them a better chance of getting a top-10 lottery pick.
No comments from Mark Cuban
Franchise owner Mark Cuban, who was fined $600,000 in 2018 for admitting the Mavericks were tanking, said Wednesday his players would not support the strategy. “Players don’t want to do this“, he said on Wednesday. “Players are not going to do that. Players don’t do that.Cuban did not comment on Friday’s game.