The offseason can get boring for NBA players, but one thing they tend to do religiously is continue playing basketball. That's what a handful of former Washington Huskies did on June 23rd, in an alumni game organized by Washington coach Lorenzo Romar.
But for 76ers forward Spencer Hawes, Grizzlies guards Quincy Pondexter and Tony Wroten and Kings guard Isaiah Thomas, it's a game that cost each of them $15,000, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.
This had to be a misunderstanding of the scheduling conflicts in the league's collective bargaining agreement, which mandates players not play in public offseason games prior to July 1 or after Sept. 15 without league approval. So these players were a little more than a week away from being able to participate in the event without a five-figure hit.
Romar coached all of these guys, so there's clearly some type of relationship there. The fine could be viewed as petty, especially if no one was injured. It was still up to the players to know the rules and make sure their old college coach understood them, as well. Live and learn.
