The NBA is looking into the Mavericks’ decision to rest several players and sit star Luka Doncic after the opening possession of the second quarter in their bizarre home loss to the Bulls on Friday night, a league spokesman said Saturday.
Despite entering Friday just a half-game out of the last spot for the Western Conference play-in tournament, Dallas appeared to be tanking the game.
That loss could help the Mavericks keep their first-round draft pick, which is slated to be sent to the Knicks if it doesn’t wind up in the top 10.
“The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivation behind those actions,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement sent to The Post.
The Mavericks and Bulls were tied for the 10th-worst record in the league prior to the game, and now Dallas is slated to draft 10th following the defeat.
If the pick, acquired as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade, doesn’t convey this year, it will carry over until 2024 with the same protections.
The Mavericks bench reacts during their loss to the Bulls on Friday, which prevented them from clinching a postseason berth. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConIf it doesn’t convey in 2024 or 2025, it would become a second-round pick.
Even if Dallas finishes the season in its current position, the Mavericks can move back in the draft lottery, which would then give the Knicks the pick.
The Knicks do not control their own first-round pick because they sent it to the Trail Blazers in the Josh Hart trade.
Before the game Friday, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said the lineup choices were an “organizational decision,” that was ultimately made by owner Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison.
Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Josh Green and Christian Wood didn’t play, and Doncic only played one possession into the second quarter, which Kidd said was the plan before the game.
According to the NBA’s Constitution and Bylaws, an owner cannot “attempt to lose or control the score of any game.”
This isn’t completely new territory for Cuban.
In 2018, he was fined $600,000 for admitting on a podcast that he told his players, “losing is our best option,” in order to land a better draft pick.
“Things change,” Kidd said when asked about the decision. “Understanding, as an organization they’ve made this decision, but we still have to be professionals, go out there and put our best foot forward, who we can play.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $600,000 in 2018 for tanking comments. Getty ImagesThe situation adds another layer to the Knicks-Mavericks saga.
The Knicks were docked a second-round pick after the league ruled they had tampered with point guard Jalen Brunson when he became a free agent over the summer.
Cuban said recently that Brunson’s parents got in the way of him returning to Dallas and the Mavericks weren’t given an opportunity to negotiate with the guard.
The Knicks hired his father, Rick, to join coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff last June.
Brunson helped the Mavericks reach the Western Conference finals last year and after signing a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks, he keyed their surprising fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
