NBA's Adam Silver: Resting Starters Is A "Significant Issue"

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a memo sent to team owners yesterday called the practice of resting star players an "extremely significant issue for our league." He "informed teams that the issue will be a prime topic of discussion" at the next NBA BOG meeting April 6 in N.Y. and "warned of ‎'significant penalties' for teams that don't abide by the league's standing rules." Silver stated that it is "unacceptable for owners to be uninvolved or defer decision-making on this topic to others in their organizations" (ESPN.com, 3/20).

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne noted when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich first "did this, he got fined $200,000." Shelburne: "I don't see Adam Silver fining these teams the way that David Stern fined these teams. There’s really no punishment except bad press" (“OTL,” ESPN, 3/20).