Mavs' Kyrie Irving: 'Load Management' Narrative Has 'Dehumanized Some of Us'

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving doesn't appear to be a fan of the term "load management," which has become quite popular over the last several seasons.

Irving told reporters Saturday during the NBA's All-Star Weekend media day:

"I don't know who created the term 'load management' or guys sitting out games or this narrative that continues to play on about star players or guys not being available. I don't know who started the narrative, but it's completely run amok.

"I think it's dehumanized some of us in terms of just the way we prepare ourselves day-to-day. This is a 24/7 job. We have cameras on us all the time. It's a high-level, combative sport. It's very aggressive."

Load management historically refers to teams reducing the number of games players appear in to prevent or reduce injuries, especially during the second half of the season with the playoffs looming.

Sitting out games also allows players to get some extra rest through the grind of an 82-game season to stay well-rested.

The principal has been around since San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich held out stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili for rest during a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat in 2012.

The Spurs were fined $250,000, but now teams aren't fined for letting their players sit out, so load management lives on.

That said, load management is typically limited to the league's superstar players, and it has become somewhat of a problem from a fan perspective as those players continue to sit out of some premier matchups that fans pay top-dollar for.

A more recent example of that is when Jimmy Butler sat out a game in January that one of his biggest fans from Argentina traveled more than 4,000 miles to see him play in. When he found out Butler wasn't playing, he was disappointed, though the Heat allowed him to meet the superstar a day later.

In an attempt to fix the load-management problem, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have discussed a rule change that would make regular-season awards dependent on the number of games a player suits up for, per The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also addressed load management during an interview on ESPN's SportsCenter on Thursday.

"There are a few things we're addressing in collective bargaining," Silver said. "I think we can ensure some of our awards require a minimum number of games."

Kyrie, for his part, might not agree with that change:

"Nobody knows how anyone else's body heals. The only person that knows is the person that is hurt or injured. We try our best to tell you guys what is going on, but you have doctors online telling everybody that he needs to be back in two weeks. You've got this person over here saying that he is not really hurt. He doesn't want to play."