The NBA doesn't want star players sitting out of games for no reason -- and now the league is doing something about it.
NBA Board of Governors voted and approved a new policy on Wednesday that will make teams unable to rest two stars in the same game for load management, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
A "star player," under current discussions, is defined as someone who made an All-Star appearance or All-Team team in any of the past three seasons, Charania said.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski added that under the new rules, teams would be fined $100,000 for a first violation, $250,000 for a second violation and $1 million more than the previous penalty for each additional violation.
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This policy is designed to hinder load management, which has increased league-wide in recent years. It rose to prominence when Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs rested stars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker for a primetime game against the Miami Heat in 2012, which the team was ultimately fined for.
Load management has only increased in recent seasons, so it makes sense that the league wants to get a handle on it. Player health remains important, but the NBA is obviously concerned about its ticketholders and television partners, too.
