The NBA has fined the Atlanta Hawks $100,000 after an investigation concluded that guard Trae Young could have played in the NBA Cup game against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 12.
A trying circumstance for the team and all their fans, since many will have to grapple with player availability.
The NBA announced on Tuesday that it had fined the Atlanta Hawks organization after conducting an investigation. A standard medical policy by league bylaws may have made Trae Young available to play in.
The team is now, officially out due to his confirmation by the right Achilles tendinitis, The Young remains five Hawks other players who do not stand any chance of taking part in the opening of the NBA Cup game versus the Celtics.
The Hawks did a tremendous job taking the game in Boston against the Celtics 117-116 playing short-handed. In that game, Jalen Johnson played in Trae Young’s place and scored a triple-double of 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Atlanta Hawks have been granted two days to rest before the match face-off with the Boston Celtics. The last game happened on November 9 wherein they faced the Chicago Bulls. Trae Young played the game for 38 minutes and seemed to have no pain symptoms after playing.
On November 15, Young was back in the starting lineup for Atlanta’s next game. He has missed only one game this season and that was the victory over the Celtics.
Currently, Atlanta is on top of the NBA Cup standings of the Eastern Conference Group C. Their record is 2-1, and the team has a match-up with the Cleveland Cavaliers to close out their group play this Friday.
The league found that the Atlanta Hawks violated its player participation policy as applied to players, who, under the league’s designation, are stars. Trae Young was found to be one such star since he participated as an All-Star last season. In addition, according to league rules, marquee players need to appear in the court in all games that are either telecasted nationally or NBA In-Season Tournament, subject to a valid reason.
The NBA said that it conducted a close investigation. This included a review by an independent physician who established that the medical standards provided under the policy which the Hawks had for not letting Young play in the game were against the medical standards. The league said this act violated the policy intended to promote participation during the regular season of the NBA.
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