Yes.

Here’s a thing I wrote about it at the time:

The NBA fined Harden $100K for “for public comments on August 14 and 17 indicating that he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team.”

The CBA allows the league to fine a player “who publicly expresses a desire to be traded to another Team.” But Harden’s August 14 and August 17 comments don’t mention anything about being traded to another team.

The league tries to get around this technicality by stating that Harden admitted in his interview with the league that the comments were about his private trade request:

The league’s investigation, which included an interview of Harden, confirmed that these comments referenced Harden’s belief that the 76ers would not accommodate his request to be traded.

But the CBA doesn’t prohibit players from privately requesting trades; it only prohibits publicly requesting trades. And the CBA doesn’t prohibit threatening to withhold services; it prohibits actually withholding services.

The league previewed fines like this in the memo they issued last month on the Lillard situation last month:

“We have advised Goodwin and Lillard that any future comments, made privately to teams or publicly, suggesting Lillard will not fully perform the services called for under his player contract in the event of a trade will subject Lillard to discipline by the NBA. We also have advised the Players Association that any similar comments by players or their agents will be subject to discipline going forward.”

I think the NBPA should appeal this. If the league wanted to punish that behavior, they should have negotiated it with the union. Instead, they’re trying to punish it through the broad “detrimental to the league” clause.

Instead, the league negotiated a punishment for public trade requests and then later decided to punish private trade requests.

The league is using the catch-all “detrimental to the league” clause to levy the fine because the CBA doesn’t explicitly allow them to punish Harden’s comments. That’s not a fair use of that clause, and I think an arbitrator would agree that they can’t apply the same punishment for private trade requests that the CBA calls for to punish public trade requests.

They sent him to Cleveland

Let me say that again

You gotta be the US Government to punish whistleblowers

Yeah i don’t get how that shit is a top comment being upvoted lol, not even the same thing

Tanking is literally throwing games, it’s literally awful to admit you’re literally match fixing

Not a single sport on planet earth wants it’s players and teams publicly admitting to literal match fixing to gain an advantage, you would literally go to jail in most other sports/countries

I guess this comes from years of making tanking normalized, no wonder the NBA had to step in and do something, these idiot fans think that throwing games on purpose is good for the sport

Considering the punishment he received, this is unlikely. If Ballmer was paying this money in taxes, which go to the non-tax paying teams that could be spun as beneficial to the owners. Ballmer was spending money in a way that didn’t benefit the other owners.

They don’t appreciate the embarrassment I’m sure, but even there I’m not sure that anger isn’t directed at Ballmer.

Broke the code

Adam could’ve just called me and I would’ve told him that myself. Love Doug, but he’s had some head scratchers.

We’re just ass, bro.

Bub is terrible?

Yeah. Christie thought the we had a foul to give and instructed the team to intentionally foul. NBA investigated and concluded that he’s just dumb.

I mean even the season prior to this last one, the Raptors told Scottie and others on the team to kinda stretch their legs and try new things vs trying to maximize winning.

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I’d disagree. If he’s saying the team was deliberately tanking, that’s the team’s decision not his. They’d be under investigation. I’d also say that “we were playing with handcuffs on” fits the idea that he believes the organization was deliberately limiting the team with their decisionmaking, but still isn’t directly saying the players were told to tank.

Bub himself is actually probably one of the ones whose development has been fast tracked more than anything by the tanking. He gets plenty of handles he wouldn’t have gotten and a lot more playtime. Hes already one of the Ironman streak leaders which for a 21st pick having 162 straight games since drafting him is noticeable

He’s also probably one of our top vibes leaders too

Lucky bastard

Taking 30 mil and only paying 700k?

Yeah pacers might have you guys beat. They weren’t even playing guys like Quentin Jackson after a good game. Putting out the most putrid starting lineups I’ve ever seen.