Dallas Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban recently said that it's not up to him as to whether or not the New York Knicks are going to get penalized for their free agency chase for Jalen Brunson. Well, it sounds like the NBA is going to do just that in the very near future.

After reports that the league has opened a formal investigation on the Knicks over tampering accusations, it seems that the consequences they are facing could be out of the ordinary. NBA insider Fred Katz revealed on a recent episode of The Athletic NBA Show that New York could be in big trouble here (h/t Darryn Albert of Larry Brown Sports)

“[Forfeiture of a second-round pick is] just what [the NBA] decided in those moments [of tampering involving other teams],” said Katz, per NBC Sports. “If they find evidence of tampering that they believe to be particularly egregious, they are down to go with a harsher penalty.”

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According to Katz, the Knicks could lose a first-round pick for their efforts on Jalen Brunson here. To be fair, they made it no secret that they were chasing the ex-Mavs guard early on. So much so, that a high-ranking New York executive was spotted sitting courtside during a Dallas playoff game, presumably to monitor Brunson. It's not as if they tried to be discreet with their visit either.

Mark Cuban is probably out having a laugh about all this somewhere. Nevertheless, this does little to soften the blow of losing Brunson for nothing.