The NBA has fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for the management of their rosters in recent games. The Jazz were sanctioned for conduct detrimental to the league in relation to the team's games against the Orlando Magic on February 7 and the Miami Heat on February 9. In both games, the Jazz removed Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. before the start of the fourth quarter when “these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt.” “Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Jazz head coach Will Hardy explained the team’s decision following Utah’s 135-119 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers on February 12. “I sat Lauri because he was on a minutes restriction. So if our medical team puts a minutes restriction on Lauri, I'll try to keep Lauri healthy," said Hardy. Jackson’s minutes had also been restricted after a growth was found on his knee earlier in the month, which has prompted the player to undergo season-ending surgery. The Pacers have been fined for violating the league’s Player Participation Policy, which was introduced in 2023 to stop teams benching their star players in order to improve their draft lottery odds. An NBA investigation found that Pacers star Pascal Siakam sat out a game against the Jazz on February 3 but “could have played under the medical standard in the Policy, including by playing reduced minutes.” The league added that Siakam could’ve been sat in “other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the Policy.”