Cesar Tordesillas

Miami, FL

NBA commissioner David Stern agrees with complaining players, coaches and fans that the league needs to expand its anti-flopping rules.

He hinted at increasing the penalty, noting that the $5,000 fine will not stop it when the average player's salary is $5.5 million.

Under existing regulations, a player could be fined up to $30,000 for five violations and a suspension on the sixth. A total of 14 players were given warnings during the season, and no player was assessed more than a $5,000 fine. Stern said this was part of "gently" phasing in the system.

Stern noted that they could immediately stop flopping if they suspend players, but he described that remedy as "a little Draconian."

A year into the program, the NBA now has the information to evaluate what increasing the frequency and depth of the penalties would do.

"I think we have the data. I don't know if we have the stomach," Stern said.

The issue will be taken up at the NBA's competition committee meeting scheduled for next week in San Antonio.

Stern said the committee will also review the referees' replay procedure, and may move replay decisions to a centralized location where an off-site official would make a quicker and more informed ruling. Such a system is currently in place in the NHL.

Mark Cuban pays $100K to fund NBA's flopping study

Dallas, TX

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is providing $100,000 through one of his companies to fund a study on flopping.

The fund will go to the Southern Methodist University for an 18-month research on whether video or other motion-capture techniques can distinguish between legitimate falls and flopping in basketball collisions.

"The research findings could conceivably contribute to video reviews of flopping and the subsequent assignment of fines," said SMU biomechanics expert Peter G. Weyand, who leads the research team.

Cuban tweeted: "Is it a flop? Let the scientists figure it out . im paying for the research to find out."

Stronger flopping penalties will be on the agenda when the NBA's competition committee meets next week in San Antonio.

The league instituted a video-review system this season that retroactively fined players for flopping, but the league was not satisfied with the results.

 

 

 

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Drop the Act: NBA to Increase Flopping Fines