What initially seemed like a harmless, if not amusing, gesture by Magic Johnson could actually get him and the Los Angeles Lakers into trouble.
Last night and again this morning, Johnson released a series of tweets asking Lakers Nation to demand that the franchise pursue DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, and even LeBron James in free agency this summer.
While many fans either discussed, or at least laughed, about Johnson's statements, members of the league and the media noticed that something was a bit off here.
DeRozan, Durant, and James are all under contract with their respective teams until July 1st. As a result, since Johnson is a Vice President for the Lakers, this has become an issue of tampering.
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The Collective Bargaining Agreement states that team employees are forbidden to “induce, persuade, or attempt to entice, induce or persuade, any Player who is under contract to, or whose exclusive negotiating rights are held by, any other Member of the Association to enter into negotiations for or relating to his services or negotiate or contract for such services.”
While Johnson doesn't play an active role in the Lakers' front office dealings like he did in the past, this could result in him, as well as the Lakers, being fined.
His best bet on getting off is the fact that the league's rules on tampering are quite vague and have previously been enforced in an inconsistent manner.
I'd advise that Johnson delete these tweets immediately and hope for the best with regards to any sanctions coming from the league office.
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