At the annual meeting of NBA general managers Wednesday in Chicago, there was no overwhelming consensus to change the rules to discourage teams from intentionally fouling poor free-throw shooters, league sources told CBSSports.com.
"There is not enough support to change it," one executive in the meeting said. "It's one of those perception is bigger than reality issues."
League officials presented data on intentional fouling that strongly suggested the problem is an isolated one, despite all the attention it has gotten during the postseason. According to the data shared with GMs at the meeting, 76 percent of the intentional fouls this season -- regular season and playoffs -- have been committed against five players: DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Joey Dorsey and Andre Drummond.
Jordan, the Clippers' center who has been hacked into the next century through the first two rounds of the playoffs, has accounted for about half of all intentional fouls this season, according to the league data.
There was no binding vote taken on the matter, and the discussion is "just investigatory at this point," another executive said. The competition committee, which next meets in June during the NBA Finals, has the authority to recommend changing the rule to the Board of Governors.
There has been a growing push among some executives and league officials to adopt a rule similar to the one used in the D-League, where all away-from-the-play fouls -- including fouls prior to the release of an inbounds pass -- are penalized throughout the game with one free throw (for any player in the game) and possession.
That penalty exists in the NBA only in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers, an influential member of the competition committee, has said repeatedly during the playoffs that he believes the rule will be changed for next season. One league source told CBSSports.com earlier this month that he estimated the chances of a rule change to discourage teams from intentionally fouling away from the ball at 85 percent.
But teams that were against changing the rule became more entrenched after the numbers on intentional fouling were divulged Wednesday, and those that were on the fence heard nothing to change their minds.
"It's part of the game," one of the executives said. "You need to make your free throws."
