Nets fined $100,000 for sitting keys players in loss to Bucks: ‘Four rotation players could have played’

NEW YORK — The Nets’ controversial decision to sit key regulars in a Dec. 27 loss to the Bucks has officially cost them.

The NBA fined the Nets $100,000 for violating the league’s Player Participation Policy in a game Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith did not play.

“Following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that four Nets rotation players, who did not participate in the game, could have played under the medical standard in the Player Participation Policy,” the NBA said Thursday.

Against the Bucks, Brooklyn ruled out Johnson with a right knee sprain — injury maintenance; Claxton with a left ankle sprain — injury maintenance; Finney-Smith with left knee soreness; and Dinwiddie for rest.

The 144-122 loss at Barclays Center marked the Nets’ second game of a back-to-back. Johnson, Claxton, Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith each appeared in the Nets’ win in Detroit the previous night and have all played in each of the team’s four games since the loss to Milwaukee.

“I’ll treat each guy on an individual basis,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said on Dec. 27. “When Dorian Finney-Smith comes to me and he’s questionable after being assessed, and he played 34 minutes last night and 12 minutes straight and he already had a sore knee, then I’m going to be smart about it and I’m gonna sit him tonight. We’re going to be smart about individually assessing our guys and putting them into a position to have a team that we can have at the end of the year, middle of the year and right now.”

Mikal Bridges, who has never missed a game in his six-year NBA career, only played 12 minutes against the Bucks — a decision the forward was critical of afterward.

“My ideal world of communication is that I present the information to you, I’m upfront with it, and I’m talking about not just [reporters],” Vaughn said on Dec. 29 in response to Bridges’ criticism. “I’m talking about players when I have the communication with them, and that they understand I have to make a choice, and the choice will be made. It’s just like with my kids, though. That doesn’t mean you always have to agree.”

The loss to Milwaukee marked the first of what’s now five in a row for the Nets, who suffered their latest defeat Wednesday night in Houston to fall to 15-20.

The NBA introduced its Player Participation Policy before the season in an effort to scale back teams’ use of load management. The guidelines aim, in part, to prevent teams from resting more than one star player in a given game and to make them available for nationally televised matchups.