Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has spoken out after two weeks of silence regarding the NBA’s $100,000 fine for tanking. On Tuesday, during an appearance on “The Fan Morning Show,” he described the league’s investigation as “shocking” and “ridiculous.” The fine was imposed after the Pacers rested their starters on February 3rd, and Carlisle disagreed with a league lawyer’s question about whether the team had considered “medicating” injured guard Aaron Nesmith.
The Indiana Pacers weren’t tanking before the All-Star break
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is concerned about teams allegedly losing on purpose for better draft positions. The Pacers have faced challenges, including the loss of All-Star Tyrese Haliburton due to an Achilles injury during the NBA Finals. Additional injuries affected players like Obi Toppin and TJ McConnell, while Nesmith has missed 25 games.
Before the February 3rd game, the Pacers had a record of 7-7 in the previous four weeks, indicating they were not intentionally losing. They lost a close game to the Houston Rockets on February 2nd and then chose to rest McConnell, Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin the following night. This led to a loss against the Utah Jazz, who were down to just seven active players; the Jazz were fined $500,000 for their own actions later that week.
Carlisle expressed his dissatisfaction with the NBA’s ruling:
“I put out a statement about it. I didn’t agree with it,” Carlisle said. “A league lawyer conducting the interview decided that Aaron Nesmith, who was injured the night before and couldn’t hold the ball, should have played, which seems ridiculous.
“During the interview, we offered for them to speak to our doctors about it, as it was documented by our staff. They declined, opting instead to consult their own doctors who did not examine Nesmith. We also asked if they wanted to talk to him directly, and they again said no.
This was shocking to me. They even inquired if we thought about medicating him to play when we were 30 games under .500. I was very surprised and didn’t agree with it. This is really the first time I’ve gone into detail about it.”