NBA notebook: Silver warns teams against tanking
Commissioner Adam Silver informed NBA teams last week the league is going to "monitor closely the play of all teams" to guard against blatant tanking down the homestretch of the season.
"The integrity of the competition on the playing court is the cornerstone of our league," he wrote in a memo obtained by USA Today. "It is our pact with the fans and with each other, the fundamental reason we exist as a preeminent sporting organization, the very product that we sell. With everything else changing around us, it is the one thing in our league that can never change. We must do everything in our power to protect the actual and perceived integrity of the game."
The reminder came in the aftermath of a $600,000 fine assessed to Mark Cuban after the Dallas Mavericks owner revealed in a podcast that he told members of his team that "losing is our best option."
The memo acknowledged that at any given time there are teams going through personnel changes as they rebuild but said evidence of a team playing to lose will be "met with the swiftest and harshest response possible from the league office."
--The Los Angeles Lakers waived forward Corey Brewer and later lost combo guard Josh Hart with a broken left hand.
The Lakers announced that Hart fractured the fourth metacarpal during practice Wednesday in South Florida. Hart is scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Thursday to have the hand examined. A treatment plan and a determination of whether surgery is necessary will be made during the appointment.
Brewer, who turns 32 on Monday, is a victim of the Los Angeles youth movement, and he reached a buyout with the team on Wednesday morning. He averaged 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 54 games (two starts) this season.
--The Indiana Pacers agreed to a contract with Trevor Booker after the veteran forward received a buyout from the Philadelphia 76ers earlier Wednesday.
Booker's deal is for the remainder of the season, according to multiple reports.
Booker averaged 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 33 games with the 76ers after being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets. Overall, he is averaging 6.6 points and 4.7 boards in 51 contests this season.
--Field Level Media
