Mavericks fined $750,000 for resting players in elimination game with Knicks draft pick implications
After investigating the Dallas Mavericks' roster decisions and game conduct towards their game against the Chicago Bulls on April 7, the NBA has fined the Mavs $750,000 for violating the league's player resting policy and making public statements about losing the game to improve the chances of keeping their first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The first-round pick, which the Mavs owe to the Knicks from the Kristaps Porzingis trade, is Top-10 protected. By losing to Chicago and then falling to the San Antonio Spurs in the final game of the regular season, Dallas finished the season with the 10th-worst record in the NBA and increased their odds of keeping their pick this season.
"The Mavericks violated the league's player resting policy and demonstrated through actions and public statements the organization's desire to lose the game in order to improve the chances of keeping its first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The league did not find the players who participated in the game were not playing to win," the NBA said in a statement Friday.
The Mavs opted to rest most of their regular-rotation players against the Bulls, playing star Luka Doncic only 13 minutes as the loss officially eliminated Dallas from playoff contention. Head coach Jason Kidd said it was an "organizational decision" to rest their main players against the Bulls, and also made it clear that they'd be resting everyone against the Spurs.
"The Dallas Mavericks' decision to restrict key players from fully participating in an elimination game last Friday against Chicago undermined the integrity of our sport," said Joe Dumars, NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations. "The Mavericks' actions failed our fans and our league."
Finishing with the league's 10th-worst record does not guarantee Dallas the No. 10 pick in the draft, but it does increase their odds. SNY's Ian Begley noted that the Mavs have a 65.9 percent chance of staying at No. 10 on NBA Draft Lottery night, while there's a 19 percent chance they fall to No. 11 and a 1.2 percent chance they fall to No. 12.
If the lottery balls go in the Knicks' direction and the Mavs end up with pick No. 11 or No. 12, then New York would get the pick. That would be the Knicks' only pick in the 2023 NBA Draft since they sent their own lottery protected (Top-14) 2023 pick to Portland in the Josh Hart trade and do not own a second-round pick.
If the Mavs' pick doesn't go to the Knicks this year, they will acquire Dallas’ first-rounder in either 2024 or 2025 (both Top-10 protected). The Knicks are also owed future first-round picks from both the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons, but will likely not get either of them until 2024 or 2025 at the earliest, Begley explained.
