LOAD MANAGEMENT
NBA legend Magic Johnson breaks silence over little-known NBA rule Stephen A. Smith and First Take crew fought over
Magic Johnson shared his thoughts on the NBA's new rule.
MAGIC Johnson believes the NBA's new rule that players must play a certain amount of games is "good for the league."
The Ex-NBA legend and Hall of Famer is all for the league's new rule, which includes a 65 minimum games played requirement for players to qualify for end-of-season awards and All-NBA honors.
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Prior to the start of the season, the NBA and players' unions agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement last April.
A part of that agreement was a participation clause, which stipulated that players must be on the floor for 20 minutes in at least 65 games to be eligible for regular-season honors, including MVP and All-NBA teams.
In other words, if a player misses 18 games, he is not eligible for those awards.
In October, NBA executive Joe Dumars said to the Athletic that he wants players to get back to wanting to play an entire 82-game season and put an end to load management.
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"Obviously, everybody's not going to play 82 games, but everyone should want to play 82 games.
"And that's the culture that we are trying to reestablish right now," he said.
On Wednesday, Johnson seemed to agree with Dumars' notion and commended NBA commissioner Adam Silver for creating the rule to help fans see the best players play.
He took to social media to vent his concerns.
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"Fans were upset after spending money to see their favorite players not play.
"So my friend NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had to take action and implement this new rule.
"It's good for the league TV partners - ABC/ESPN, TNT, NBATV; the local TV partners for all 30 teams, sponsors, the NBA, and last but not least, the FANS!" Johnson tweeted.
Despite what Johnson and Dumars believe, the current NBA players have recently spoken out against the rule.
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton slammed the rule and called it "stupid."
"I think it's a stupid rule, like plenty of the guys in the league, but this is what the owners want.
"So as players, we gotta do our job and play in 65 games if we're able to," Haliburton said.
Golden State Warriors icon Draymond Green blasted the rule as well after Philadelphia Sixers star Joel Embiid got hurt on Tuesday, which Green felt was due to the new changes.
"Joel playing tonight felt very much so because of the 65-game limit...
"Now we got one of the premier faces of this league possibly hurt because he's forcing it," Green said.
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The topic was also discussed on First Take with Molly Qerim, Stephen A Smith, and Kendrick Perkins.
The NBA intended to get its best players on the floor as much as possible, but the new rule may need some tweaking after a year.
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