SAN ANTONIO — It is now common practice for NBA teams to rest players in-season to preserve their health for the long term.
Whether that be sitting players who are "older" to extend their shelf life or sit key players for teams that are playoff bound despite being at peak health.
And NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, isn't pleased with the practice.
During a chat about load management at the 2022 NBA Summer League, Silver voiced his thoughts on the topic and singled out San Antonio Spurs' R.C. Buford for creating it.
"There’s nothing more frustrating also for our fans than having players, frankly, that aren’t injured following some program schedule for rest. I’m looking at R.C. [Buford], you started this all," Silver said.
The Spurs do implement load management and its practice was at its height during the franchise's dynasty era.
Perhaps the biggest example was in 2012 when the Spurs were on the road to face the Heat and head coach Gregg Popovich sat out Danny Green, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker for the marquee television game.
The Spurs were fined $250,000 and then NBA Commissioner, David Stern, released a statement.
"The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case," commissioner David Stern said in a statement. "The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the team’s only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans."
The Spurs' actions were seen in violation of a league policy against resting players in a manner contrary to the best interests of the NBA.
Fans pay a lot to attend games to see their favorite players in action. Television networks also pay top-dollar to broadcast marquee games.
One can understand where the league is coming from as well as team coaches who are looking at long term team benefits for resting players especially San Antonio - a team that puts player health above all.
The practice still is ongoing and it is common practice now and the league has made efforts to curtail it.
There are fewer back-to-back games, tighter rules, and extended days off between games.
As for Buford, Popovich, and the Spurs, it wasn't just San Antonio that implemented the practice early.
The Sixers were notorious for sitting out Joel Embiid during the "Trust the Process" era and LeBron James would sit out games set for national television as he did in 2019 against the Warriors.
What do you have to say, Spurs fans? Let us know on Twitter at @KENS5 and at @JeffGSpursKENS5.