This situation with the Spurs has reminded me of the discussion that took place when Kobe was suspended for a couple of games a few years ago for that side swipe he was doing to try and draw shooting fouls. It was suggested by some here, and others elsewhere, that his suspension should be delayed because the Lakers were about to embark on a road trip that included their lone visit to New York to face the Knicks, and the people attending the game deserved to see Kobe in action.
The argument of course was that the league was doing a disservice to the fans by suspending him immediately and thus shouldn't do so, which is what the league is now saying about this situation. And to be fair, it seems to me if the league should cater to fans by showing lenience when handing out disciplinary action, teams should also have to field their best squad, barring injuries or other excused absences. However, I'd actually disagree in both situations. I understand the arguments in favour of those positions and there's merit there, but if a player is suspended for their actions then those are the consequences; likewise, if a coach elects to rest some of his players to weather the grind of the lengthy season and risk losing a big game, that's his choice to make and risk to take.
This is where it gets interesting though:
The NBA contends that the Spurs' actions were in violation of a league policy, reviewed with the NBA Board of Governors in April 2010, against resting players in a manner contrary to the best interests of the NBA.
To play devil's advocate for a moment, since that rule
is in place, the Spurs
do have a responsibility to handle the situation accordingly. Perhaps they needed to inform the league sooner, citing the rough schedule and age of their core. It's certainly
possible that they could have handled it better and to that extent, brought the situation on themselves. It's actually good to know that there are rules like that in place. After all, we wring our hands and bemoan the idea of teams tanking, so it would be hypocritical to deride the league for trying to prevent it and ensure everyone is being sporting.
However, the Spurs obviously
aren't tanking. They simply rested some key players to try and keep them fresh during a part of their schedule that's a little rough for an older team. Again, it's possible that they could have communicated their objections and intentions a little better and/or sooner so it's probably fair that they accept some responsibility for that, but they are being maligned here. On top of that, Woj noted some disturbing double standards and cases of injustice in his column, which doesn't leave the league or Stern looking very good.
Depending on the exact rules that the league has referred to, some kind of fine may not be completely out of order, but nevertheless it was handled poorly and Stern doesn't come off well at all.