MIAMI – A week ago, Myron Gardner had his salary doubled, when the Heat converted him from a two-way contract to a standard deal. Monday, the NBA took $35,000 of that away.
In response to Gardner’s late-game shoving incidents with Memphis Grizzlies’ forward Scotty Pippen Jr. during the Heat’s Saturday night victory at Kaseya Center, Gardner and Pippen each were fined $35,000 Monday by the league, otherwise with no other league sanction beyond Saturday’s ejections.
In announcing the fine, the NBA issued a statement that read, “With 1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s 136-120 victory over the Grizzlies on Feb. 21 at Kaseya Center, Gardner initiated the incident by bumping Pippen from behind, causing Pippen to fall to the floor. Pippen further escalated the altercation by forcefully shoving Gardner in response. Both players were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.”
The fines were announced by James Jones, the former Heat forward who now is the NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.
In the wake of the incident, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of his feisty guard, “His greatest strength is this unbridled intensity and effort and energy. His heart is in a great place, and he’s wired like us competitively. You add that type of intensity to this competitive will that will boil over at times.
“I don’t want to take away from that competitiveness. I just want to see where it is right now. We’ve been spending a lot of time with him, just the discipline of defending without fouling.”