The NBA is seeking to curb load management, especially among star players, with a new set of rules that are likely to be passed this week.
The NBA Competition Committee has recommended stricter guidelines regarding resting players during nationally televised games, as well as resting multiple star players at once. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, teams will be subject to significant financial penalties for violating these rules.
Under new rules, teams would be fined $100K for a first violation, $250K for a second violation and $1 million more than the previous penalty for each additional violation, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/ZOQjJpoNaD
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 11, 2023
The league plans to define a “star” as a player that has made either an All-Star team or All-NBA team at least once in the previous three seasons.
Under current discussions among team and league personnel, a star is defined by someone who's made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons, sources said. https://t.co/2WBe1BPrUG
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 11, 2023
The NBA has long sought to curb load management. Teams prefer to manage the workloads of their leading players, which can lead to stars sitting out games, some of them significant ones. Some stars are very resistant to that, but older players are increasingly subjected to the treatment.
Notable players will still be rested under the new policy, assuming it passes. However, the league’s hope is that the decisions are more staggered and come in less prominent games.
