Zaza Pachulia talks about flop warning

After being given a flop warming during last Friday's game against the Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia spoke out against the foul Wednesday, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

"It's a rule so you have to respect the game, respect the rules," Pachulia said. "Honestly, my first reaction because I saw the elbow coming was just to try to get out of the way because I was so close. I wasn't trying to flop there but if you look at the film it's obvious it looks like I was flopping. I was just trying to get out of the way. If the elbow came, I would rather take the $5,000 fine than a broken jaw."

Pachulia received the warning after being grazed by the elbow of Wizards' forward Kevin Seraphin. Pachulia stumbled but never fully fell on his back onto the court.

The NBA has a new flop rule in effect this season. The league will issue a warning on the first sign of a flop, but on subsequent instances, the player committing the foul will be fined $5,000 for a second offense, $10,000 for a third offense, $15,000 for a fourth offense and $30,000 for a fifth offense.