The NBA doesn’t much care for players making trade demands via the media. Stephen Jackson — then of the Golden State Warriors — was hit with a $25,000 fine in September for trying to talk his way out of town.
(Jackson succeeded, and is now a member of the Charlotte Bobcats… though the fact that joining the Bobcats counts as success says more about the Warriors than anything else.)
The latest victim of this policy is New York’s Nate Robinson. Krypto-Nate has been hit with the same fine, despite the fact that he hasn’t made any trade demands. In fact, Robinson has publicly stated that his first priority is to re-sign with the Knicks. His agent, hasn’t been nearly as discreet, making a public trade demand via the New York media on December 19th.
This is believed to be the first time a player has been fined for statements made by an agent.
Robinson’s agents at Goodwin Sports responded to the fine via their Twitter page, saying:
@Goodwinsports: Nate has NEVER made comments detrimental to the NBA nor has he ever requested a trade or instructed his agents to request a trade.
It’s easy to sympathize for Robinson, who — as a pending free agent — is losing money every day he’s forced to sit on the bench, racking up DNPs. Even though he’s fallen out of Mike D’Antoni’s rotation, Robinson continues to show enthusiasm and is invariably the first Knick off the bench to chest-bump teammates after a big play.
But there may be more to the story. Robinson has the power to veto any trade, and according to multiple reports, only wants to be moved to a contender. Other reports have suggested that Robinson’s people have already discounted the possibility of a trade, and are simply lobbying for a buyout.
Nate Robinson Fined for Agent’s Trade Demand originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 17:05:11.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
