The NBA’s load management issue has usually been framed as a consequence of player empowerment spiralling further out of control. The scheduled rest for stars that ruins the fan experience is, we’re told, yet another sign of players selfishly putting their wants and needs ahead of league and team stakeholders and the people who’ve shelled out for tickets.
It’s a compelling narrative, but one that overlooks a much greater threat to fan enjoyment and the sanctity of the game. One that has nothing to do with players’ choices.
Joe Dumars, the NBA's executive vice president and head of basketball operations, recently underscored the league’s concern over load management: "It's a very important issue to the NBA, a very important issue,” he told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. “We understand that fans and media and people want to see the best players in the world play. And so, it's an issue that's got everybody's hands on deck to try to figure this out."
Everybody except the teams themselves. Because when it comes to the stars being unavailable to play, the reason is almost always because sports science staffs feel they need more rest and because front offices feel they need more lottery balls.
In short, tanking is a much more live threat than scheduled rest.
Tanking has long been an issue in sports, but it tends to draw a brighter spotlight when there’s a generational talent waiting to turn around a franchise on a dime — as is the currently the case with both Victor Wembanyama and NHL draft prospect Connor Bedard — or when the tactics employed in the race to the bottom get too blatant.
Take for example the latest bungled management decision by the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs announced Friday that Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood would all be out against the Chicago Bulls that night in Dallas. They also announced Luka Doncic would only play one quarter.
The official reason for sitting both Green and Wood was “rest.” Green is a 22-year-old part-time starter and it was a win-or-go-home game. The team could have had him dress and not play, but instead they didn’t even bother to pretend on the injury report.
Still think players aren’t to blame for the sitting epidemic? Just ask Marc Cuban about their motivation. In an impromptu media availability earlier in the week, the Mavs owner offered his insight into players’ feelings about tanking for draft position. "The guys don't want to do that," he said. "Players aren't going to do that. Players don't do that.”
Head coach Jason Kidd described it as an "organizational decision" to rest the majority of their rotation, placing the blame for the choice at the feet of Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison.
Asked afterwards how he felt about the choice Doncic told reporters, “I didn’t like it. That’s it.”
The only reason Doncic played at all was because it was Slovenia night, and hundreds of his countrymen had travelled to Dallas to watch the game. (Tension may have been exacerbated by the fact Doncic missed Slovenia night last season because it fell on the second night of a back-to-back and he was being rested.)
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The fans aren’t the only stakeholders impacted. The league is just around the corner from negotiating a new TV deal and is reportedly looking to triple the one currently in place. The NBA was also the first major North American league to sign a partnership with a betting company. The league has a legal and fiscal responsibility to deliver what it promised to these companies: competitive basketball for the entire season.
The play-in tournament was created to make people care about the end of the season, but with teams racing to get out rather than in, it’s instead become a mockery.
“This is maybe a step back. But hopefully it leads to going forward," Kidd said of the benchings.
The coach’s quotes are an example of exactly why the Mavericks are in trouble. The lure to tank is so clear they aren’t even trying to hide it. They’re handing smoking guns to the press. And the Mavericks of all franchises should know better: In 2018, Marc Cuban was fined $600,000 for publicly admitting to tanking to get to the top of the Luka Doncic draft.
The NBA has announced it will investigate Dallas’s decision to sit players, “including the motivations behind those actions," NBA spokesperson Mike Bass announced Saturday. Since the 2018 fine obviously didn’t act as a deterrent, the league should punish the Mavs by taking away the draft pick they tanked to retain. Maybe that will finally get the message across, and not just to the Mavs, because this issue isn’t unique to Dallas.
In April 2021, the San Antonio Spurs were fined $25,000 for resting three players. Later that month the Toronto Raptors were fined $25,000 for resting two players in a home game. In December, the Brooklyn Nets were fined $25,000 for resting eight players on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Spurs, who once tanked for Tim Duncan and started the load management trend, are still doing it and could land the first overall pick in the draft. And the NBA hasn’t announced its intention to investigate the Utah Jazz or Portland Trail Blazers, who have been openly tanking for months — in Portland’s case, years.
This issue is bigger than any individual franchise. Really, the NBA itself is also culpable. The rules are set up in a way that incentivizes losing. The Mavericks are simply playing the percentages.
The new CBA makes it harder for teams to stay together, with a second apron after the luxury tax. The Golden State Warriors, for example, will struggle to keep their dynasty together even though they drafted the balance of their stars. This puts more pressure on teams to find relatively cheap, effective labour in the draft as an alternative to paying established players rising costs. The draft system hasn’t made the league more competitive, but it has given struggling teams a compelling reason not to compete on the court.
European soccer has solved this issue. Not only is there no draft but with relegation at the bottom of the table, the race to stay up is often more compelling than the race to lift a trophy.
But relegation to the G league is not happening anytime soon, as no team governor would sign up for scenario where franchise valuations would plummet.
The NBA draft lottery on May 16 is must-see TV, a landmark moment on the league calendar. The hope was the play-in would be another such moment but organizations like the Mavs have prioritized lottery balls over balling out for a shot at playoff games.
NBA owners, be careful what you deem to be important. Your customers and corporate partners just might start believing you.
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