This fine is a mockery. Its following the letter of the law perhaps, but not the spirit.
The Hawks, Suns, Kings, Magic, Grizzles, Bulls, and Knicks are currently in tank mode. There may not have been any official memos, but starting g-league players and holding out legit NBA players with fake injuries may as well be a memo.
The Sixers did far more to damage the competitiveness of the NBA than the Mavs. The Mavs have tried to do things the right way. They try to sign upside players (Barnes, Jordan, Matthews), they develop rotational talent in house (Barea, Curry, Kleiber, Powell, etc.), and they tried to win games. Where did it get them?
They've been a middle-of-the-pack playoff team in the West without a real shot at the championship for the last 7 years.
Meanwhile, in the same time, the Sixers had solid starting talent (Holliday, Iggy, Vucevic, Williams, and Young) and were also a middle-of-the-pack playoff team -- with their youth, they were on the rise. After the 2011-2012 season, they had 5 straight losing seasons, largely as part of the process.
Its the height of hypocrisy to follow the letter of the law with the Mavs while promoting the Sixers as one of the most exciting products in the NBA.
Still, if Cuban had to pay 600k to get a top 5 draft pick this year, I'm sure he would. If they pick right, it could set the franchise up for the next two decades.