To no one’s surprise, the NBA fined the Sixers $100,000 on Tuesday after investigating why Joel Embiid missed their nationally televised regular-season opening game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 23. However, the reason for the fine was revealing.

The league did not fine the Sixers because Embiid missed that game. In fact, the investigation confirmed that he has been “unable to play due to a left knee condition” so far this season, meaning he is not in violation of the new player participation policy that came into effect ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. Instead, the Sixers were fined for “public statements” that were “contrary to Embiid’s “health condition.”

The league did not specify which statements led to the fine. Only team president Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse were named as culprits. Both have discussed in recent weeks their plan to keep Embiid fresh throughout the regular season, including regular breaks.

That seems to have gotten on the nerves of the league office. Sources told The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Joe Vardon that the Sixers’ message – namely “that the playoffs were the top priority and the regular season was not” – was a key part of the decision to fine them.

A source with knowledge of the league’s investigation told Amick and Vardon that Embiid did not suffer a new injury during the Olympics, but that his knee was “so unstable that there were fears that further damage could occur if Embiid did so last week.” would have played.” The Sixers’ public messages in recent weeks have not accurately reflected this.

The player involvement policy allows the league to impose disciplinary action if “a GM, head coach or other team personnel (including team governors or investors), a player or a player representative makes a statement or other representation that is inconsistent with the player’s status,” according to the player’s injury report Team or to the league office as described.” The Sixers said Embiid was out for the first four games of the season with a “left knee injury,” but they did not provide any specific information beyond that.

Now that they’ve been fined, they have even less incentive to be accommodating. The next violation of the Player Involvement Policy will cost them $250,000, while any subsequent violations will cost them an additional $1 million each time. That perhaps explains why head coach Nick Nurse was so curt Tuesday with reporters inquiring about Embiid’s status. More misleading comments could now cost the Sixers a quarter of a million dollars.

The NBA would never admit this, but they likely implemented this new attendance policy for two main reasons: national TV partners and gambling. Amick and Vardon noted that “a business rationale certainly came into play” in the league’s decision to fine the Sixers, as star players playing in high-profile games are “a crucial part of the future financial equation.” of the league”. And with sports gambling growing like wildfire in recent years, the league doesn’t want teams to lie about players’ health. There was already a scare with the Jontay Porter scandal last year; Any further gambling-related fiasco could have huge consequences.

However, fining the Sixers for “inconsistent” comments about Embiid doesn’t give them any incentive to reveal more information about him until he’s ready to return. This will only make the frustrating start to the season even worse.

Granted, the Sixers could solve all of this by being honest and upfront about what’s going on with Embiid. What is the left knee “complaint” he is dealing with? Why was his knee reportedly so unstable last week that he would risk further damage if he played? Is this all a result of the meniscus surgery he had earlier this year? Will he have to deal with this for the rest of his career?

As Liberty Ballers boss Paul Hudrick wrote earlier this week, the Sixers’ lack of transparency is only making this situation worse. The player involvement policy does not prohibit them from disclosing this type of information, although they will need Embiid’s consent first. (Don’t hold your breath.)

Unless there is a sudden about-face from Embiid and the Sixers, we may be even more in the dark about the big man’s health than before. This is why we owe the fines for violations of the player participation policy.

Unless otherwise stated, all statistics above NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the glass or Basketball reference. All salary information about Salary Swish and salary cap information about RealGM.