According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George started talking about playing together on the Los Angeles Clippers before free agency started at 6 p.m. on June 30.
This is the type of stuff NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants to avoid. It's why he's enforcing new tampering rules.
However, it's nearly impossible to stop and catch players talking to each other about teaming up.
“The idea that Kawhi Leonard first introduced the idea of trading for Paul George in his meeting with the Clippers, from a list, we know that days before free agency started, well days before, Kawhi and Paul George were talking,” Wojnarowski said on his podcast.
“Paul George’s agent went to Oklahoma City prior to the start of free agency and said Paul would like to be traded to the Clippers. He wants to play with Kawhi. But, at that point, Kawhi wasn’t allowed to be talking with the Clippers. They couldn’t officially have contact with him until after June 30, 6 p.m.”
Leonard signed a three-year deal with the Clippers in free agency, while Los Angeles acquired George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a blockbuster trade.
Silver said on Friday if tampering occurs moving forward, there could be harsh penalties, including execs getting suspended, teams losing draft picks and players getting their contracts voided.
Is tampering still going to occur behind the scenes? Probably. It will be interesting to see if these new rules change anything that players, coaches and execs do in private, but Silver is willing to try anything to fix the issue.
Follow Us
Subscribe