The Toronto Raptors are in the thick of things in the playoff race, but a year ago the team was not in that spot.

The Raptors found themselves in the lottery last season, and they were able to select Collin Murray-Boyles with the number nine overall pick. Murray-Boyles has been a hit for the Raptors as he has been a big part of the team in his rookie year. Teams that don’t have a chance at competing for the playoffs are hoping to add a player like Murray-Boyles or even someone better, as this year’s draft class is viewed as one of the best in NBA history.

The Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers were fined $500,000 and $100,000 respectively for actions that “undermines the foundation of NBA competition.” NBA analyst Tom Haberstroh sent a stray in the direction of the Raptors, claiming that Toronto should have been punished like the Jazz and Pacers for sitting Scottie Barnes during games late last season.

Last March, ahead of the Cooper Flagg draft, the Toronto Raptors routinely benched All-Star Scottie Barnes in clutch situations. They sat regularly starters for DNP-Rest. They were not punished or fined.

Today, Adam Silver dropped the hammer on the Utah Jazz for the same thing. https://t.co/tunbIkOrFI

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) February 13, 2026Raptors Catch Stray in Tanking Wars

In March 2025, Barnes played in 14 of the team’s 15 games. The one appearance Barnes did not make came on March 12 against the Philadelphia 76ers, a game the Raptors won 118-105.

Barnes did, however, miss a chunk of the season early in the year due to an injury. Barnes missed 11 games from October 30 to November 18, and the Raptors won just two of those games. As a team, the Raptors finished 26-39 in games Barnes played in, while winning just four of 17 contests in which he did not.

The Jazz and Pacers are being criticized because they are using injuries to their best players as ways to hold them out of games. This conservative approach can easily be used as a weapon to keep their best players from competing in important games, but there isn’t really a way around it.

What if a star player actually were hurt, like in the case of Jaren Jackson Jr., who was diagnosed with a benign tumor on his knee that needs season-ending surgery? There’s a nuance to all of it, but there isn’t actually a way to make things perfect.

Teams have to be on their best behavior and prioritize what is best for the players and the league as a whole, which doesn’t always align and is evidenced in this unique scenario.

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