Examining the NBA's new in-game flopping penalty: Will it work?

The NBA has finally had enoughof its players flopping.

Starting next season, officialswill have the power to call a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul ona player who flops, meaning players can't be ejected for flopping.The call will be made during a neutral possession and the opposingteam will be rewarded a free throw, followed by the gameresuming.

What could go wrong?

The rule will definitely be metwith some opposition from players and fans, especially since itwill slow down the game. In fact, we already saw this happen duringNBA Summer League, where the league tested out the new in-gameflopping penalty.

On July 6, Golden State Warriorsguard Lester Quinones became the first player to earn a technical forflopping. While playing against the Sacramento Kings in theCalifornia Classic Summer League, Quinones made a three over adefender, but attempted to sell the contact by falling to theground. The shot went in and there was no call. The Kings proceededto have a possession and when the Warriors got the ball back andbrought it up just past half-court, that's when the technical forflopping was called. Play stopped, the official made theannouncement, and the free throw commenced.

This was not well received bythose in attendance.

Fans immediately booed, playerswere clearly annoyed and even the commentators were unsure of whathappened. Kings guard Jordan Ford made the free throw and playresumed, with the Warriors getting the ball back.

The NBA clearly wants to getflopping under control for good, so it makes sense that they aretrying a new approach. However, any rule that slows down the gameeven more is likely to be rejected by the fans, and understandablyso. With challenges and replays being implemented over the last fewyears, the game has slowed down quite a bit, especially toward theend of games.

While challenges and replays areappreciated by most fans because they want to see the right calleven if it means slightly slowing things down, this flopping rulemay not be as well received. It does not feel as important as, say,a tough out-of-bounds call or whether a player was flagrantlyfouled. Flopping is frustrating to watch, yes, but we'll seewhether fans view this as a solution or part of theproblem.

Will the new anti-flopping ruleeven work? It remains to be seen.

This isn't the first time that the NBA has triedto remove flopping from the game. Back in 2012, the league introduced fines as away to penalize floppers. After one warning, players would be fined$5,000 for their second flop, $10,000 for their third flop, $15,000for their fourth flop and $30,000 for their fifth flop. A sixthoffense could result in a suspension.

Under the NBA's new rule, finesfor flopping will start at $2,000 (to match all othertechnical-foul fines), and the fines will still "increaseincrementally for repeat offenders."

Next season, we'll see ifplayers are less likely to flop when it hurts their team as opposedto just their wallet. And it'll be interesting to see what fansthink of the league's new anti-flopping approach.If the reaction is similar to whatwe saw from fans during NBA Summer League, this new rule could be aflop.