Load management — resting players, sometimes star players during nationally televised games, ahead of time possibly without proper reason — has been a defining issue plaguing the NBA during the early part of the 2019-20 regular season.
Now, in a memo sent out to teams two weeks ago, the NBA clarified the meaning behind load management to resolve issues regarding penalizing teams to sitting out players.
The NBA sought to eliminate such confusion in the wake of this month's Leonard brouhaha, as Byron Spruell, the NBA's president of league operations, told ESPN in an interview last week. The league outlined new guidelines for injury reporting in a Nov. 11 memo to teams, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.
The short version: Load management is now rest. Period. If you see that term, it will mean a healthy player is taking the night off. If skipping that particular game violates the league's resting policy, that player's team will be penalized.
Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard may have kicked off the latest cycle of unrest when he was sidelined while head coach Doc Rivers said he felt “great.” Due to the technicality, the Clippers were fined for lying about Leonard's status, as they previously said he had a legitimate injury that required resting.
Now, the league will call load management as a reason to be inactive just “rest,” and will penalize teams for sitting healthy players.
It is one of the many issues the NBA will fight on, as tweaks to the season and rules are discussed in the coming months and years with the players association.
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