Over the last several weeks, the Utah Jazz have had a lot of players on their injury reports. While they list official reasons for why players are missing games, it's not hard to understand why these players are being held out: it's all part of the tank.
The Jazz are entitled to approach the season however they want. However, the NBA clearly doesn't consider these injury absences a coincidence when a team like the Jazz consistently load up their injury reports. They made that clear when they fined the Jazz 100k for violating the league's Player Participation policy, per Chris Haynes.
The NBA specifically cited their failure to make Lauri Markkanen available before their game against the Washington Wizards.
Utah Jazz have been fined $100,000 for violating the Player Participation Policy when the team failed to make Lauri Markkanen available for a game on March 5. pic.twitter.com/hKbD9c7UrX
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 12, 2025
The Jazz lost against the Wizards, which helped them in their tanking efforts because Washington is currently among Utah's toughest competition in that department. It's not exactly fun to watch the Jazz lose, nor is it great to see them not even close to full strength, but everyone knows that it's for the greater good.
The NBA knows it too and want to send a message to the Jazz that if they're going to do this, they won't be able to do so unscathed.
This won't change anything
Did the Jazz deserve this? Of course they did. They're holding out their best players like Markkanen to help their tanking chances. Will it change their approach for the rest of the season? Of course it won't.
This is the same thing as the NBA fining players for profanity or criticizing officials. Sure, $100k is a lot, but that won't stop teams like the Jazz doing everything in their power to get a top pick in the draft.
That means, Markkanen will miss more games going forward, as will some of their other players, like Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton. The NBA can't really do anything to stop them outside of these fines, which don't really affect the franchise much at all.
The NBA has done everything in its power to curb tanking, and it hasn't done a bad job. However, it's never not going to be around. Tanking is the eaisest route of getting a franchise player, especially for small market teams like the Jazz.
The irony is that the Jazz have typically not done this. They have built their teams typically by other strategies besides getting a high lottery pick(s). It's different now, and because it's their best route going forward, they'll do everything to ensure everything goes swimmingly.
It's not a guarantee they get the No. 1 pick, but getting a high enough pick can make a huge difference. If it takes a few fines worth a couple hundred thousand dollars, that's a small price to pay for what could turn into their most glorious era of basketball if all goes right.