The Utah Jazz are going through a tough time. After calls around the league mounted against their tanking-adjacent practices, the league offices have hit them with massive fines, and now, star trade acquisition Jaren Jackson Jr. has been sidelined for the entire year. Now, a key figure on the team has become involved in an argument with an established media figure.

Recently, after the fines were issued, ESPN insider Bobby Marks posted a comparison of the fines to the luxury tax in the previous CBA. Majority Jazz owner Ryan Smith fired back on social media afterwards, and now Marks has responded in an exchange that is only getting uglier with every moment.

When Jazz writer Andy Larsen pointed out that this kind of interaction wouldn’t happen between former ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski and GM Justin Zanik, who were known to have a good relationship, Marks made it clear that he would have said what he said:

“I’ll bet you my 401k I would. And I would have said the same thing if my son was the GM.”

This comes just hours after Jazz owner Ryan Smith replied to Marks’ original assessment, telling him to “sit this one out,” adding that Marks had “no clue what paying this is like and your amnesia this week is comical.”

Marks had pointed out that billionaire owners are willing to pay the fine for tanking, like the $500,000 one that the Jazz were assessed, if it gave the team a competitive advantage through the chance to draft and secure a potentially high-impact player for at least four years.

He even hinted that the league should look into taking away resources for the team’s rosters, something that Smith clearly didn’t take kindly to.

The Context For NBA Fines Behind Jazz Owner-ESPN Reporter Argument

On Wednesday, the league announced $500,000 fine against the Utah Jazz for conduct detrimental to the league resulting from two specific games in early February. During a Florida trip, the team sat both of their top players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., in the fourth quarters against the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic, despite both being supposedly healthy enough to play.

In each situation, the game was still close when the two were pulled, and the NBA determined that this decision was attempting to prioritize draft odds over competitiveness, also known as tanking, something that has long been a sensitive topic around the league. Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the matter directly.

“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” Silver said. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”

In response, Jazz head coach Will Hardy spoke out before the team’s game tonight, claiming that he “sat Lauri because he was on a minutes restriction,” making it clear that it was indicated to him by the medical team to let the forward sit.

Only time will tell if the argument between Jazz owner Ryan Smith and Bobby Marks will continue, but it’s clear that things are getting ugly fast.