NBA fines the 76ers $75,000 and the Pelicans $25,000 for failing to report injuries…..
The NBA also fined the New Orleans Pelicans $25,000 for a separate violation that also involved the league’s injury reporting rules.
Embiid hadn’t been included on the 76ers’ injury report Saturday, but the reigning MVP was scratched from their lineup minutes before tipoff after he had discomfort in his left knee during warmups.
His injury prevented a highly anticipated matchup between Embiid and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic in a game the Nuggets eventually won 111-105. Embiid also sat out the 76ers’ 130-104 loss at Portland two nights later.
NBA officials said the fine took into account Philadelphia’s prior history of fines for violating injury reporting rules. The league review concluded that there was no violation of the league’s player participation policy because Embiid’s absence was because of a confirmed injury.
The Pelicans’ fine was for failing to include Trey Murphy III on the team’s injury report Saturday before a 141-117 loss at Milwaukee in which he didn’t play.
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Joe Dumars gets real on ‘unintended consequences’ of 76ers star Joel Embiid’s MVP situation
The NBA’s new rule of players being ineligible to receive awards if they have not played at least 65 games has been a topic of controversy as of late. Especially with Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid on the cusp of reaching the mark amidst a great season, NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars was in an interview with Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports and talked about the “unintended consequences” of it all.
“You’re always gonna have unintended consequences, that’s the first thing,” Dumars said. “The second thing, you kind of knew that the first couple of guys that were going to get close to that mark, it will become an issue. So it probably was going to become a talking point at some point. It could’ve been a month from now. The number is what the number is. I’m not surprised, [though].”
The face of the 76ers in Embiid has five games left before he will be ineligible to receive post-season awards like MVP even though at the level he has been playing at, he would be the frontrunner. He has averaged 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and close to two blocks per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field
Dumars would defend the new rule from the association since it was “collectively bargained” in the new CBA this past year. He would continue saying that there was a lot of numbers thrown around in terms of the amount of games an individual should play to be eligible.
“Lest we forget, this was collectively bargained, players’ association, signed off by the owners, signed off by the competition committee,” Dumars said. “And we’ve updated the numbers. We throw a lot of numbers around, and at the end of the day, everybody landed on 65 and said, ‘You know what, that’s 20 percent, 20 percent of the season basically. That’s fair.’ Everybody in the ecosystem signed off on this.”
Besides players being ineligible for awards like the 76ers star in Embiid, the new rule also applies for people looking for new contracts by the end of the season since to get a max or higher contract, there are requirements like being on an All-NBA team. Players like the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and especially Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton are among the men looking for new contracts, but are close to not being eligible.