After seeing flopping occur far too often last season and throughout the 2012 NBA playoffs, the league has had enough and is in the process of finalizing procedures to penalize and fine floppers as Ramneet Singh reported earlier this week.
These new procedures to penalize players for flopping will go into effect this season and no one on the current Los Angeles Lakers squad is happier about the new rules than Metta World Peace:
Thanks for banning flopping
— Metta WorldPeace (@MettaWorldPeace) September 29, 2012
Known for his ability to be a force defensively, World Peace thrives on the defensive side of the basketball floor. With the Lakers in need for a boost on defense, the storied franchise knew that adding the veteran forward was a step in the right direction after losing Trevor Ariza a few years ago.
Last season, World Peace became increasingly frustrated with players in the league using flopping to their advantage. With plenty of big-name players around the league like LeBron James, Chris Paul, James Harden and Blake Griffin flopping on a nightly basis, World Peace vented via Twitter and feels vindicated as a result of the NBA’s ruling on flopping.
The impact of the new procedures next season will be interesting to say the least. The players mentioned above will almost certainly be testing the bounds of the new rules and will likely be used as an example if they continue to flop in order to manipulate referees into making bad calls.
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In case you missed it – the latest episode of Lakers Locker Room Talk Focuses on Steve Blake
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