The Nets were fined $1,000 by the NBA on Thursday for violating the league’s Player Participation Policy.
Brooklyn’s violation came during its loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 27 at Barclays Center. In that game, starters Cameron Johnson, Nic Claxton, Spencer Dinwiddie and key reserve Dorian Finney-Smith were all inactive.
Other key players like Mikal Bridges (12 minutes), Royce O’Neale (10 minutes) and Cam Thomas (12 minutes) were benched early in the contest.
“Following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that four Nets rotation players, who did not participate in the game, could have played under the medical standard in the Player Participation Policy,” read a memo released by the NBA on Thursday.
The policy, which was adopted prior to the 2023-24 season, was enacted to promote player participation in the regular season. In other words, to combat “load management.”
Coach Jacque Vaughn cited the team’s workload when explaining the team’s decision.
“My thought was getting a feel and pulse of the game,” said Vaughn. “Mikal played 40 minutes last night. And so, the thought was it wouldn’t be wise of me to continue and go down this path in the game and then have him play 40 minutes again. So you have those decisions in the course of the game.
“Ran Cam and Royce and Mikal pretty long in the first quarter, and just envisioned that, at the end of the night, I didn’t want them touching 40 minutes again. That’s really what it boiled down to.”
Bridges, the team’s star player, did not agree with the decision saying, “Didn’t like the choice and whatever that was, but it’s whatever. Definitely was not a fan.”
The Nets (15-20) have lost every game since the game against Milwaukee.
