Just months after one of the biggest offseasons in NBA history involving player movement, the NBA’s board of governors approved a number of new measures to punish tampering and ducking salary cap rules.
A host of adjustments to tampering penalties have now been made including, the league having the ability to fine teams for up to $10 million for tampering, taking away draft picks and executive suspensions. Additionally, some new countermeasures to dissuade tampering have been introduced including random auditing of a front office’s communications with teams, players and agents.
"We had, I think, a very healthy discussion on those issues," Adam Silver said Friday in New York after the new measures were passed. "Certainly the provisions passed unanimously, and there was a strong view, I think, of every single person in the room that we need to ensure that we're creating a culture of compliance in this league and that our teams want to know that they're competing on a level playing field and frankly don't want to feel disadvantaged if they are adhering to our existing rules.
"The ultimate goal here is to ensure compliance and to ensure that there's that appropriate tension that exists at the team. So there is sort of a significant threat that if a team doesn't comply, that there will be consequences."
The Celtics were one of the many teams in the spotlight this season when it came to suffering the repercussions of possible tampering. While there were plenty of rumors swirling around Kyrie Irving’s intention to leave Boston for Brooklyn just weeks after the season ended, the bigger hit to the Celtics may have come with the moves of a rival.
Al Horford reportedly secured a four-year commitment from the Sixers two weeks before free agency was even set to begin. That knowledge hurt Boston in negotiations with the big man during what was supposed to be an exclusive negotiating window in June. Additionally, the Sixers were allowed to plan subsequent moves (trading Jimmy Butler for Josh Richardson in a sign-and-trade) with the benefit of knowing that they had Horford secured on a commitment ahead of the free agency frenzy.
It’s unclear whether the new rules would have had a measurable impact on such a scenario taking place but with so many contracts rumored to have been agreed upon even before June 30th hit (including Kemba Walker with the Celtics), there was an obvious need for some renewed belief that free agency would not be treated like the wild west moving forward. The fact that the league will now conduct five random audits of teams’ free agency communications should increase the chances of finding any blatant tampering taking place.
"I'm not sure I allayed everyone's concerns, but I will say it's my job to create an appropriate amount of tension in that area," Silver said. "Obviously, if people felt that they were absolutely free and clear to communicate in certain ways, you wouldn't be addressing the consequences notion of improper activity.
"Again, I understand it. As I was saying from the other standpoint, none of us want people looking into their personal communications. But I think people who operate in a public company environment, who operate in a financial world, who are used to compliance procedures, understand that you have to find the right balance of disclosure and privacy so that you can ensure that people of goodwill will understand that there will be consequences to inappropriate behavior."
With the ramped-up enforcement of team’s communications, there will always be an argument that there are still many countermeasures a team can take to skirt around the law. Meeting in person, burner phones or texting apps that don’t maintain messages will all be potential option to break the rules without leaving a trace. Still, with the eyes of the league seemingly more committed to investigating any kind of suspicious circumstances, Silver is optimistic there will be change.
“In terms of increasing the consequences and whether that just pushes inappropriate activity more underground,” Silver explained, “Number one, my sense of the room was this was not just about league office versus teams, that what we are really seeking again is a cultural change in the league, that all the partners in the league are essentially saying, this is the kind of league we operate.
“I think if someone is absolutely determined to cheat in any industry and people are willing to do anything to be successful, I guess you have rogue actors in every field and in every industry. I think what we're saying, though, is that we believe through these tools, we think we're dramatically going to increase the likelihood that we're going to catch you.
"I don't want to suggest there's any perfect system. I think at some point you're relying, at least in part, on the good faith of partners working together and a sense from all of them that, as I said, that is a culture in which people want to compete fairly. But I think just as there are new tools that potentially people could use to communicate, there are other tools that are available to the league to try to ferret out inappropriate behavior.”
The true test will come next summer with a free agent class lacking much star power outside of Anthony Davis. Years of grumbling from behind the scenes now will be going to the forefront. The league is on notice now and the impact on the team planning should be intriguing to watch from a front-office standpoint while navigating these waters.
NBA News and Notes
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The NBA Board of Governors also approved new language in the NBA rule book that governs traveling violations. The revision will not change the substance of the rule but will help eliminate the gap between the rule as written and how it has been applied in NBA games. “One of the most misunderstood rules in our game is how traveling is interpreted and appropriately called,” said Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations. “Revising the language of certain areas of the rule is part of our three-pronged approach to address the uncertainty around traveling. This approach also includes an enforcement plan to make traveling a point of emphasis for our officiating staff, along with an aggressive education plan to increase understanding of the rule by players, coaches, media and fans.”
- A rule shift involving the announcement of starting lineups was also approved by the owners. Now, teams must submit their lineups 30 minutes prior to tip, a 20-minute shift from the previous rule (10 minutes before tip). This is likely an adjustment with a nod towards sports betters, something the league is trying to build on as it gains more steam countrywide.
- One other potential shift that's still on the table in regards to tampering? Moving free agency ahead of the draft. It looks like that kind of a big shift won't be possible until a new CBA is agreed upon, however. "Yes, that's still on the table, but that's not something that the league has the ability to unilaterally change," Silver said. "The provisions we talked about are all either already part of the collective bargaining agreement and we were announcing our intention with our teams as to how we'll enforce that rule, or again, were things that were already within our purview."
- The Rockets bolstered their wing rotation this past week by signing defensive-minded Thabo Sefolosha to a deal. They also had their uniquely structured deal with Nene voiding for the sizable win bonuses that made him a bigger trade chip for salary purposes. Instead, the league announced he will only be able to make his base salary ($2.8 million)