The Flop Trend

I'm not a Jeff Van Gundy fan. I suppose he is alright as a commentator, but he is very opinionated and there are times I disagree with him. However... I think he is spot on when he gets angry about flopping. I've frequently heard him rant about how flopping is killing the game and last night he took it a step further and said Mickael Pietrus "should be fined one million dollars" for a flop he did in the final minutes of the Miami/Boston Game.

I'd like to see some penalties for flopping, especially for the repeat serial floppers. Maybe technicals, perhaps some fines, but at least some shame. They should really hand it to the guys who ratchet things up a level when they flop and then fake an injury or pretend to catch an elbow from a player who is clearing space.

I see flopping from every team and even from many of the players I like, so it's not like I'm pointing fingers at a particular team or individual. If the NBA is going to punish floppers for trying to deceive officials, then they should probably do the same thing whenever a player knowingly points the wrong way to influence the ref when a ball goes out of bounds or is they raise their hand after a foul to try and take the blame and protect their star player from fouling out.

If players really want to trick those officiating, why not be bold and have a player distract the score keeper while a teammate sneaks extra points onto the score board? That would work with professional wrestling. I don't have the answer to the growing flopping trend, but I hate seeing players rewarded for acting and don't want to see the NBA turn into European soccer. 

One more thought- If guys are willing to blatantly flop to try and deceive the refs in front of millions of viewers, then I wonder how their wives feel about trusting them while they are away on road trips.