The Utah Jazz have been fined for “compromising the integrity” of the NBA by benching healthy players

The Jazz, who are 13th in the Western Conference, and the Pacers, who are 14th in the Eastern Conference, appear unlikely to qualify, and thoughts already appear to be turning to next season and how their roster will be assembled.

Utah led by nine points in the fourth quarter of its meeting with Orlando on February 8, but lost 120-117, while it beat Miami 115-111 two days later.

“We agree to disagree. We also won the game in Miami and got fined? Makes sense,” Utah owner Ryan Smith said on social media.

Head coach Hardy defended his decision to bench Markkanen and Utah also announced that Jackson Jr. will undergo season-ending knee surgery after this weekend’s All-Star Games.

“Lori sat down because he was on a minutes restriction,” Hardy said. “So if our medical team restricts Lori for a minute, I will try to keep Lori healthy.”

Utah were also fined $100,000 (£73,000) last season for resting Markkanen for multiple games.

The Pacers were issued a fine for violating the player participation policy after a league investigation found that Pascal Siakam and two other players who missed the game “would have played” even if it had been “less minutes.”

This policy was introduced in 2023 in an attempt to discourage teams from deliberately losing to improve their chances at the draft lottery.