Not a bad idea, excepting they probably don't want to punish flops that hard. They get 15 points for the season, so counting each as a point means floppers have to cut back from several per game to once every 6 games, tops. I'd like to see them cut back that much, but I doubt they will. I think instead we'll just see a big rash of suspensions (and grousing from the union to go with it).
The most effective is probably the simplest. Just call flopping a technical foul. (According to heypartner, it is actually already in the Rule Book.) If the refs catch it on court, call a tech. If the refs miss it, post-game review can still give the player a tech. They already have a point system for accumulating techs. So suspension will come for frequent floppers.
This has potential... I mean once a superstar gets blasted on sports center multiple times for getting fined via flopping, he'll think twice before continuing to get clowned and developing a rep for flopping.
A far fetched hypothetical - Jeff Van Gundy said before that a technical foul shot is pointless and on a technical foul they should just put the point on the scoreboard for the other team. Imagine just giving an extra point on the scoreboard to the other team on a technical foul flop call. Directly efficiently damaging and punishable. But itd require one impossible rule to make another.
Howard Beck@HowardBeckNYT NBA just announced new anti-flopping policy: Warning for 1st violation, $5k fine on 2nd, then $10k, $15k and $30k on subsequent violations. Howard Beck@HowardBeckNYT Player called for sixth flopping violation will get "discipline that is reasonable under circumstances," incl bigger fine and/or suspension
The flopping violations stack up during the season? Could be harsher than expected... seeing as how some players flop at least twice a game (Harden, Wade, Manu, etc.).
Official press release by the league. http://www.nba.com/2012/news/10/03/anti-flopping-rule/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2 League is talking big at the moment. The league is going to be itching to find the first few flops of the season to rain "righteous" thunder down on offenders. It will be interesting to see if any of the players' behaviors will be noticeably different during the first few weeks.
Those fines sound promising however I can still see instances like Bosh acting as if he's hit with an elbow and not get fined or warned.
They were never going to catch floppers consistently in game. It always kind of made me laugh when Bullard or other people said the ref should penalize players for flopping during the game... If the ref thought they were flopping, the flopper wouldn't be getting the benefit of the call in their favor in the first place. So there is no way they were going to get a call against them for flopping because in the refs eyes it wasn't a flop. Flopping is so subjective I can see lots of appeals for players who are fined. I wonder who will flag the play for review, or is someone going to watch every single foul call from every single game across the whole league every night? That's a lot of film to review, and it makes you wonder what the standard is for determining whether a play is fineable for flopping. We'll see how it works out, but I'm not expecting it to change things that much.
Remember that teams can send in video of opposing players for the league to review. The league could have officials or some other league employee just mark down the times of possible flops. I think the biggest problem could the the players union opposing suspensions for flopping. It'll also be interesting to see how the NBA handles star floppers like CP3 and Blake Griffin.
We might not see a big change this season or next, but if the league does this right and calls offensive flopping as well as defensive flopping- it may change the league culture over time.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Little known proviso of new flopping rule: after 6th violation, player's name legally changed to "Fernandez"</p>— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) <a href="https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/status/253594267543564290" data-datetime="2012-10-03T20:35:59+00:00">October 3, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It doesn't seem like fining players over fairly arbitrary league office judgments is going to go over well with the players' association.
unless they give the money to the opposing player who the flopper victimized. wouldn't that be an interesting twist in the rule. Players would try to get floppers to flop, so they get the money. "Coach, ISO me against Ginobody, baby needs a new pair of shoes."
And off we go.... <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>NBPA plans on filing a grievance and an unfair labor practice charge challenging the new anti-flopping rule implemented by the NBA.</p>— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo/status/253615376024346624" data-datetime="2012-10-03T21:59:52+00:00">October 3, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Billy Hunter - fighting for every little thing there is - scary negotiator that dude. From players' tweets, looks like they like the new rule, but I guess Hunter still has to fight for their interests. Maybe he'll get some more padding onto players' pensions in exchange.
Too all that are saying that flopping is subjective and therefore this rule cannot be inforced - flopping isn't subjective at all. I can clearly see when a player flops. It's painfully obvious. I really hope they implement this. It would truly make the NBA a better league. I don't have high hopes though.
