NEW YORK — The NBA is investigating a live-ball interference between Nets assistant coach David Vanterpool and a pass from Washington Wizards’ Spencer Dinwiddie on Wednesday.
The expectation is that the league comes to a decision in the next 24 to 48 hours and Vanterpool or the Nets could face discipline in the form of a fine or a suspension.
The incident happened at the 5:45 mark of the fourth quarter of the Nets’ 119-118 victory over the Wizards.
Dinwiddie attempted to swing a pass to a wide-open Kyle Kuzma in the corner, but Vanterpool, who was standing close to the sidelines, stuck his hand out and deflected the pass. Nets veteran guard Patty Mills then closed-out on Kuzma and stole the ball away.
Kuzma took a foul to stop the possession, then he and Dinwiddie complained about Vanterpool’s outstretched arm.
During postgame interviews, officiating crew chief Ben Taylor said none of the officials saw the infraction and that there is no mechanism in place for such a play to be reviewed.
“That was also horses---, too,” Kuzma said of the play after the game. “You’ve got Steve Nash blocking the ref’s view. He can’t see s---. I don’t know what else to say. It’s very unfortunate, but you’ve just got to live with it.”
There isn’t much of a bar for the NBA as it pertains to coaches who break the rules. The league fined former Nets head coach Jason Kidd $50,000 for directing a player to bump into him and intentionally spilling a drink on the court to force the officials into a stoppage of play. In that game, a 2013 matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Nets were down two and out of timeouts with eight seconds to go and Kidd’s infraction gave his team time to gather themselves and prepare for a game-winning play ... which fell short.
Vanterpool is in his first season as an assistant coach with the Nets. He spent six years as an assistant coach on Terry Stotts’ Portland Trail Blazers staff, then spent two years as a lead assistant and defensive coordinator in Minnesota before taking the job on Nash’s staff. He is regarded as one of several assistants on the short list of future head coaching candidates.
