NBA opens tanking investigation after Mavericks rested starters

The Dallas Mavericks turned heads on Friday night when theydecided to rest key players against the Chicago Bulls despite thefact that their postseason hopes were still alive.

The NBA took notice too, and they have opened an investigationinto the matter.

"The NBAcommenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstancessurrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conductwith respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game,including the motivations behind those actions," NBA spokesman MikeBass said.

Dallas sat Kyrie Irving, Christian Wood, Josh Green, TimHardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber, and benched Luka Doncic after heplayed the first quarter. Dallas didn't even try to hide theirintention to tank, listing Green and Wood as out due to rest. TheMavericks ultimately lost, eliminating them from thepostseason.

The Mavericks sat their key players because they wereprioritizing their draft pick over potentially making the play-intournament. They owe their first-round pick to the New York Knicks(as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade) but it's top-10protected, and losing to the Bulls gave Dallas the 10th-bestlottery odds in the league.

“Thingschange,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said of the decision to sit keyplayers. “Understanding as an organization, they made thisdecision. But we still have to be professionals, go out there andput our best foot forward, who can play. ... Understanding this isa situation we’re in, that the organization has made a decision tochange. So we have to go by that."

NBAcommissioner Adam Silver has said that tanking has no place in theNBA, so it remains to be seen if the Mavericks are punishedfollowing the league's investigation.

"If we everreceived evidence that players or coaches were attempting to loseor otherwise taking steps to cause any game to result otherwisethan on its competitive merits, that conduct would be met with theswiftest and harshest response possible from the league office,"Silver wrote in a letter to teamsseveral years ago.

In 2018, Mavsowner Mark Cuban said on a podcast that he instructed his team that"losing is our best option," which led to a $600,000 fine by theNBA for "public statements detrimental to the NBA."