Carlisle's complaints about Pacers' fine 'inaccurate,' NBA says
The NBA pushed back on claims made by Rick Carlisle during a radio appearance in which the Indiana Pacers head coach vehemently disagreed with the team's $100K fine received earlier in February.
"Coach Carlisle's description of the process that went into the decision to fine the Indiana Pacers is inaccurate," a league spokesperson said Tuesday in a statement provided to The Athletic's Sam Amick. "An independent physician led the medical review. In addition, the Pacers' general manager and the team's senior vice president (of sports medicine and performance) were interviewed as part of the process.
"The Pacers confirmed that (they) had provided all of the information requested by the league, and the team reported that an interview with Coach Carlisle or a team physician wasn't necessary."
The NBA fined Indiana for violating the league's player participation policy in a Feb. 3 game against the Utah Jazz. The league said that three Pacers starters - Pascal Siakam and two unnamed players - could've played despite being ruled out. The Pacers announced prior to tipoff that they would rest Siakam, while Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, two of the team's most frequent starters this season, were listed out with respective back and hand injuries.
Carlisle addressed the penalty earlier Tuesday on 105.7 The Fan, criticizing the investigative process and disputing that Nesmith was healthy enough to participate.
"There was a league lawyer that was doing the interview that kind of unilaterally decided that Aaron Nesmith, who had been injured the night before and couldn't hold the ball, should have played in the game, which just seems ridiculous," he said. "And during the interview process - I was not on it, but I heard details - we asked them if they wanted to talk to ... our doctors about it because it's something that was documented by our doctors and trainers.
"They said no, they didn't need to. They talked to their doctors, who did not examine Aaron Nesmith. We asked them if they wanted to talk to the kid, and they said no, they didn't need to. This was shocking to me. And during the interview, they also asked if we considered medicating him to play in a game when we were thirty games under .500. So, I was very surprised."
Nesmith returned to Indiana's starting lineup for its next three games but didn't dress against the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 11 due to low back soreness. He's since missed the team's last two games after spraining his right ankle during Thursday's loss to the Washington Wizards.