Tampering in the NBA

What is tampering in the NBA? Tampering has begun to develop into a pressing issue in the NBA when speaking about free agency. The NBA Tampering rules suggest that teams, player or coaches cannot approach or lure players on rival teams when they are bound by contracts with their respective teams. But what counts as an approach or a lure?

Fines for tampering could be small or big. Money wise, most of them are around $50,000 which for a lot of players is pocket change. Bigger offenses, as of late, resulted in loss of a draft pick for the next year. An example would be Draymond Green. Green is a player for the Golden State Warriors and is known for being very vocal. Green said to the media that he thinks that 23-year-old guard Devin Booker should get out of phoenix. When asked if he was tampering, he said “maybe.” This activity resulted in a $50,000 fine. when asked about the topic, NBA superfan Luke Hanson said “I don’t get the big deal about it. as someone who love the NBA, I think they should abolish the rule.” Tampering done by a team could result in a fine up to $5 million.

The NBA has been fighting against this issue for decades and it has elevated a lot over the past couple of years. The largest fine in NBA history occurred in 2017, to the Los Angeles Lakers. They were fined $500,000. It was due to unorganized conversations between Laker’s manager Rob Pelinka and Former Indiana Pacers forward Paul George. A year later, the Lakers were fine again, this time for $50,000. It was because Laker’s president Magic Johnson compared Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to himself back when Magic was a star in the league. William Outten, a huge Lakers fan, “I love the rule. I think the league needs it to keep order.” As you can probably tell, the NBA takes tampering very seriously and will go to great lengths to prevent it from infecting the league. It causes league-altering situations and can potentially change history in the league if committed. The latest example of tampering came from the Heat and the Bulls. While we don’t know specific details, the teams were both punished with removal of their second-round picks in next year’s draft. This was a very slight punishment, but it was harsher than the money fines that other teams have faced. It is popular belief that this will not stop teams from tampering. That second round pick was 100% a sacrifice the teams were willing to make as they both used tampering to being stars to their team. The Heat brought guard Kyle Lowry and the Bulls brought in Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan.

These players are likely much better than any player the teams could have drafted in the second round, but what can the league really do differently? Fortunately, we as fans are not involved with the tall task of deciding the rules. we just have to hope the people in charge can make things right in the league. One of the biggest issues in the NBA is tampering, and it constantly changes the league. the NBA commissioner has the power to veto a trade between teams. years back, he used this power to command a veto to a trade involving the Los Angeles Lakers, who at the time had the great Kobe Bryant, and star guard Chris Paul. the trade would have changed the course of history for the league forever. the Lakers would have been unstoppable and things would have been very different. It is everyone’s hope that in the future the league can figure out a solution. Tampering is something that is argued by people a lot in this day in age. Some people are all for it, some people cannot stand it. Regardless of where you stand, we can all agree that the league needs to finalize the rule. They need to either allow anything or come down hard in effort to completely abolish the act inside of the National Basketball Association.