The Los Angeles Lakers have found themselves in a sticky situation due to potential tampering charges involving All-Star Paul George when he was still a member of the Indiana Pacers.
It now appears that the investigation by the NBA has centered in on Magic Johnson's role in the entire fiasco. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Pacers are reportedly pushing the league to look into a phone call that George had with Johnson.
@BobbyMarks42 on @ESPNLosAngeles. Says the @pacers would like the @nba to look into if Paul George had a phone conversation with Magic…
— Allen Sliwa (@AllenSliwa) August 22, 2017
This could become a turning point in the situation as Johnson cannot speak directly to George while he's still under contract with another team. That alone could be defined as tampering and could cost the Lakers greatly in the process.
If Los Angeles is found to have tampered with George, it could result in some stiff punishment handed to the team. The Lakers could potentially lose draft picks, fined up to $5 million, and even be prevented from either signing or trading for the All-Star forward.
That said, it has been an investigation that the organization has made it clear that they are fully participating in order to sort everything out. This is just another wrinkle that could quickly expedite the process to determine whether or not the Lakers conducted any wrongdoings.