Adam Silver is setting a double standard by fining Hawks for Trae Young not playing

In recent years, the NBA has attempted major changes to make professional basketball more appealing to fans. It feels like we are in a "trial and error" era and more adjustments come each season. Between new All-Star Game formats, the NBA Cup and discussing potential changes to the playoff bracket, the NBA is much different than it was a decade ago.

One of the biggest flaws that fans have consistently pointed out across the NBA is that superstars tend to take random games off to rest when they very well could have played. For the fan's perspective, it is frustrating to spend a lot of money on tickets only to find out your favorite player is resting. On the other hand, players' health should still remain a priority. This is a tough, fine line to navigate but NBA commissioner Adam Silver is doing his best.

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Was the 100K fine the Hawks' received fair?

Back on November 12th, prior to an NBA Cup game agaisnt the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks added superstar Trae Young to the injury report and ruled him out due to tendinitis in his right Achilles.

While it is always difficult to accuse anyone of not being truthful regarding their health, Young sitting out in such a big game was a red flag to the NBA. The Hawks' previous game was three days prior and would not play again until November 15th ruling out the possibility of only wanting to rest to reduce work load.

As a result of this suspicion, the NBA completed an investigation of this entire situation and thanks to the work of an independent physician, it was determined that Young could have played. Atlanta was fined $100,000 for violating the NBA's player participation policy.

This may make a lot of fans feel like the NBA is making necessary adjustments for improvement but in reality it appears that Adam Silver setting a double standard. When you take into consideration the amount of time Joel Embid of the Philadelphia 76ers has missed and the organization has not been punished, it is hard to justify the fine the Hawks had to pay recently. We will see if this situation causes more investigations across the league when superstars miss time.