There is a lot of work behind the scenes with the NBA right now, including negotiations between the league and the National Basketball Players Association.
The NBPA is the union that represents athletes in the Association and accepts their collective bargaining agreement.
REPORT: In some CBA negotiations, the NBA and NBPA discussed end-of-season awards to regular season games played, per @MikeVorkunov.
Cracking down on load management?👀 pic.twitter.com/ykEqaWjFew
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 14, 2023
According to the latest reports, the NBA and NBPA are discussing end-of-season awards and how they could be tied to the number of regular season games played.
In other words, it sounds like players might only be eligible for end-of-season awards if they participated in a certain number of games.
This is obviously a direct attempt to limit the amount of “load management” used in the league.
Load management is when players sit on the bench in order to rest their bodies even if they aren’t currently experiencing any pain or injury.
It has been a subject of much debate and controversy lately.
Again and again, fans attend a game only to find out their favorite players aren’t on the court because the coaching staff has elected to rest them.
In the eyes of many, this practice is unfair to the fans.
At the same time, the NBA’s intense schedule puts players and coaches in a challenging situation where load management seems like the smart approach to keeping everyone healthy.
Tying these awards to a player’s attendance would certainly cut down on the amount of load management.
But more will have to be done if the NPBA and NBA are seriously trying to eliminate it.
You can be sure that this will be discussed even more by fans, players, coaches, and the commissioner in the weeks and months ahead.
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