When Lauri Markkanen waited to sign his four-year, $220 million contract extension last August, he waited until rules prevented him from being traded this season. But his commitment to the

The Utah Jazz were fined $100,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for violating the league's Player Participation Policy. The league said the violation involved Lauri Markkanen, who is a star player under terms of the policy.

With the Jazz tanking and trying to land a top-three spot in the lottery, nobody expected to see Markkanen again this season.Except for NBA league executives. Markkanen, an All-Star in 2023, qualifies as a "star player" under the league's Player Participation Policy — the policy put in place a couple of years ago to ensure the league's biggest names are on the court for regular season games (trying to slow the trend of load management).