San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is kind of the grand master of resting star players during the season — a practice which has come under some fire of late.
The NBA itself recently condemned the Cleveland Cavaliers for doing so and then sent out a memo to teams that threatened “significant penalties” if they don’t provide notice before a player is held out for the purposes of rest.
In response to it all, Popovich gave his two cents on the matter while throwing a pointed jab at Washington politics.
Pop said he's very sympathetic to the fans who buy tickets and then don't get to see their favorite players. pic.twitter.com/F1BAT1riWj
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) March 21, 2017
Fans aren’t happy when the show up to games only to discover that their favorite players aren’t going to play. Tickets are not cheap, and neither is the cost of parking or purchasing concessions at stadiums around the league.
The NBA’s response to threaten penalties could certainly curb this practice. But it shouldn’t have to come to that.
Since Popovich pretty much got the ball rolling on this trend, perhaps he can also be a leader when it comes to fixing what has become a problem for the league.