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Free agent tampering has been a major issue in the NBA over the past few seasons. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the league will soon be cracking down on the issue, by imposing a set of strict punishments for teams caught breaking the rules.
Per Woj,
The NBA Board of Governors passed a stricter package of measures to enforce compliance with tampering and salary cap circumvention, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)September 20, 2019
Adam Silver on tampering punishments: "Suspending executives...taking away draft picks....voiding contracts...All those provisions are on the table. The ultimate goal is compliance." Silver says fining teams can often be the least effective avenue to rules compliance.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)September 20, 2019
GM's and agents do believe free agency will be impacted. How much? We'll see. But both sides more apprehensive on negotiating/agreeing to deals ahead of June 30 start. One GM said, "I'll follow the rules -- until I find out others aren't and I'm at a competitive disadvantage."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)September 20, 2019
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps also reported an interesting wrinkle to the enforcement of the new rules:
Adam Silver confirms that he does now have the ability to take people's communication devices if he chooses to do so. Has said multiple times he "does not want to take people's devices." That, however, is different than saying he won't.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps)September 20, 2019
Is the NBA overstepping it’s boundaries, or are these measures neccesary to ensure an equal playing field? Let us know your thoughts!