Did the Golden State Warriors prove the NBA’s fining system is broken?
Three Golden State Warriors were fined for commenting on the poor refereeing that took place during the final moment of the Warriors’ showdown with the Wolves last Friday. Were those fines deserved?
Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were the three Dubs that received fines from the league. Green’s was the most, totaling $35,000. Curry owes $25,000 and Durant $15,000. All three gave comments that trolled either referee Marat Kogut or the officiating at large.
Per the NBA:
"“Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been fined $35,000 for making statements on social media which impugned the integrity of NBA officiating; Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been fined $25,000 for his actions and public statements impugning the integrity of NBA officiating; and Warriors forward Kevin Durant has been fined $15,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced Tuesday by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations."
The NBA’s L2M report even confirmed that a foul did, in fact, take place, although Curry still didn’t believe it. The NBA described the foul on Curry as “hot stove” contact. So, this happened.
Steph Curry pulled up to the arena with an oven mitt after the NBA described a non-call in the Minnesota game as “hot stove” contact 😂 pic.twitter.com/gRng7nez1n
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 1, 2019
Alright, let’s assume that a foul was there on the play to win the game for Minnesota, even though clearly the ball was overthrown and Karl-Anthony Towns hardly (if at all) moved by Durant. Let’s also assume that Durant has a point about Kogut wanting to call the foul prior to the shot.
Where does that leave us?
Three stars are incorrect and the league comes down on them for critiquing officials. Why, if the three Dubs believe they have a point, can they not express their opinions when begged to give them?
It won’t change the game.
The Wolves won, and, regardless of what the Warriors want to believe is correct, there won’t be any change to the officiating moving forward. That said, what’s the need to then fine the three as well?
Draymond Green’s fine does make sense. He went and plastered the initials on Twitter. He was unprovoked. However, if you’re going to let reporters question these stars about the officiating, you’re almost going to fine them for any answer they give besides “next question.”
We want to see frustration. This is their livelihood. They should be able to say what they believe in any given situation, and this recent fining is just another incident of how the league should change to help give these players a platform to air their frustrations.
That OR just don’t allow reporters to question the officiating. That almost solves all the issues, but with the juicy stories needing to be written, that seems like a last resort for the league.