Tampering has become a hot button topic in the NBA nowadays and it appears like the league is hell bent on cracking it down.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA has issued a memo to teams about improving compliance to tampering rules and made a number of proposals to the NBA board of governors in an effort to address the issue.
In an effort to prevent tampering, NBA sent memo to teams about improving compliance, @TheAthletic @Stadium has learned.
Memo proposes that a lead team ops member certify annually that it didn’t engage in impermissible free agency talks; max fine amounts raised significantly.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019
Likewise, the NBA is looking to increase fines and penalties, tightening already existing policies regarding tampering, and increasing team audits on the matter. The NBA board of governors will reportedly
Proposed increases in NBA’s maximum fine penalties for tampering and cap circumvention, @TheAthletic @Stadium has learned:
– Tampering with player/team personnel: $10M, up from $5M.
– Unauthorized agreements: $6M for team; $250K for player.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019
Further proposed rules as NBA works to crack down on tampering: increased enforcement of existing rule prohibiting player-to-player tampering; require team governor to certify no unauthorized benefits were offered/provided; investigatory audits of 5 teams annually, at random.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019
These proposals will reportedly be up for voting by the NBA Board of Governors on September 20, Friday.
The NBA Board of Governors will vote on Sept. 20 to pass new action items that have been advised across the board, from committees and league office. https://t.co/qQjBPiprom
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019
This has been a league-wide concern ever since what Bill Simmons likes to coin “The Player Empowerment” era. With the advancements in technology and social media, players can easily hit each other up and talk about the prospect of playing alongside each other.
The seeds of this issue were planted when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all decided to join forces in South Beach in the summer of 2010. The move, highlighted by LeBron’s infamous show “The Decision”, gave players the notion that they have the power and freedom to do whatever they want and carve out their own destinies.
Players have since gone on recruiting each other to come over to their respective teams. While others have been punished for violating the NBA policy on tampering – Magic Johnson and Doc Rivers to name a few – others seem to have gotten away with it.
Most recently, while there is currently no evidence presented, Kawhi Leonard essentially recruited Paul George, who is still under contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, to come join him with the Los Angeles Clippers.
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