Kevin Martin has been very popular with the people at the league office in New York this year. Just Monday he got a $15,000 fine from the league for celebrating a big shot with the big balls dance Sam Cassell brought to the NBA.
Now he is the first player to pick up a flopping warning from the league this season.
He got it for a flop Wednesday in the Timberwolves win over the Nets. On the play Martin gets a kick out pass near the top of the key, then as Bojan Bogdanovic closes out on him Martin drives left around him, gets on the wing and takes a 12-foot leaning jumper. As he does Bogdanovic light touches Martin who proceeds to flail like he was hit with a cattle prod. You can see the video of the play at this link.
Under the NBA’s flopping rules, the first time a guy is singled out for a flagrant offense he is warned. If Martin is caught flopping again he gets a $5,000 fine, then the fines go up from there on subsequent flops.
So again, flopping during a game leads a warning and if you do it a lot you get a $5,000 fine. One celebratory dance that might offend a grandma who sees it while switching channels, $15,000. Just so we are clear where the league’s priorities are.