"Meanwhile, later Thursday, the Utah Jazz will visit the Memphis Grizzlies in what would've been a homecoming of Jaren Jackson Jr., who was acquired in a stunning deal by the Jazz ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Instead, Utah -- after playing Jackson in a few games and getting fined $500,000 for its handling of his and Lauri Markkanen's playing time in a contest it won in Miami -- shut down Jackson for the season after knee surgery."
"Instead of two games with exciting storylines for fans, these are anything but. And it's because these three teams -- Indiana, Washington and Utah -- all have draft picks this year whose value depends on how high they land in May's lottery. And they're not alone, either. That's why, in two separate answers about tanking that came up in his annual All-Star weekend news conference, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said "incentives" five different times."
Several teams entered post-All-Star games with newly acquired starters unavailable because of injuries, reducing expected competitiveness. Ivica Zubac was ruled out with an ankle injury after being traded to Indiana; Trae Young and Anthony Davis remained sidelined for Washington with leg and hand injuries respectively. Utah acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. but played him sparingly, was fined $500,000 for handling of his and Lauri Markkanen's minutes, and shut Jackson down for the season after knee surgery. Those teams have draft picks whose value depends on lottery position, creating incentives to lose games late in the season.
Read at ESPN.com
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