Jazz Owner Ryan Smith Fires Back After NBA Fine, Challenges Tanking Narrative
The NBA hit the Utah Jazz with a $500,000 fine for what it called “conduct detrimental to the league,” and team owner Ryan Smith wasn’t about to let the moment pass without a response. The penalty stemmed from the Jazz sitting key players Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. during crucial fourth-quarter stretches in back-to-back games-moves the league viewed as undermining the competitive integrity of the sport.
But the fallout didn’t end there. ESPN analyst and former NBA executive Bobby Marks weighed in on social media, drawing a comparison between tanking fines and luxury tax payments under the previous collective bargaining agreement. “If it gives you a competitive advantage, or in this case, a chance to draft and keep an impact player, billionaire owners will pay the fine,” Marks posted.
That didn’t sit well with Smith, who clapped back with a sharp rebuttal: “Hey Bobby… maybe sit this one out. You have no clue what paying this is like and your amnesia this week is comical.”
The tension highlights a growing friction between front offices trying to navigate player health, long-term planning, and the league’s push to preserve competitive balance on a nightly basis. For the Jazz, the situation is layered and more complicated than a simple tanking narrative.
Let’s start with the games in question. On February 7 in Orlando, Utah held a seven-point lead entering the fourth quarter but ultimately lost by three.
Two nights later in Miami, the Jazz carried a three-point edge into the final frame and held on to win by four. In both games, Markkanen and Jackson Jr. sat the entire fourth quarter.
The NBA determined both players were physically capable of continuing and that the decisions to bench them were unjustified, regardless of the game context or final result.
What makes this more nuanced is Jackson’s health situation. According to multiple reports, including from The Athletic’s Tony Jones, Jackson is scheduled for season-ending knee surgery during the All-Star break.
The Jazz had reportedly planned to shut him down immediately after discovering the issue in his physical, but Jackson pushed to play at least one more home game before undergoing the procedure. That desire was echoed by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, who characterized the surgery as preventive rather than reactive.
Sources also indicated Jackson was playing under a 25-minute restriction, which helps explain why he didn’t see the floor in the fourth quarter. But Markkanen’s absence is where the league drew a hard line. There was no publicly known injury or restriction that would justify his benching, and that’s what ultimately triggered the fine.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver didn’t mince words when addressing the situation. “Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition,” Silver said. “We will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games.”
It’s a strong message from the league, especially in a season where the NBA has ramped up its efforts to combat load management and incentivize competitiveness across all 82 games. The fine serves as a warning shot-not just to the Jazz, but to all teams walking the tightrope between player development, injury management, and the pursuit of lottery odds.
For Utah, the situation underscores the challenges of rebuilding while trying to stay within the league’s competitive framework. And for Smith, it’s clear he’s not willing to let the Jazz be painted with a broad brush when the circumstances-at least in his view-don’t tell the full story.