NBA sends clubs to the penalty area – Sport – Kommersant

Today, the National Basketball Association (NBA) launched an investigation against its most valuable team, the New York Knicks. The club, which signed point guard Jaylen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal this summer, allegedly entered into negotiations with the player before the official opening of the free-agent market, which is strictly prohibited by NBA rules. If the Knicks’ guilt is confirmed, the team will face sanctions – a fine of up to $10 million, loss of the right to choose in the draft, disqualification of all those involved and, in the worst case, cancellation of the contract. A few days ago, another club in the league, Philadelphia, fell under the same suspicions.

A number of sources said that the NBA launched an investigation against one of its clubs, the New York Knicks. It stems from a deal the team made this offseason with former Dallas Mavericks guard Jaylen Brunson. The parties signed a four-year agreement for a total of $104 million.

The details of the contract are fine, and the Basketball League’s suspicions of the Knicks boil down to so-called tampering. In other words, the NBA assumes that the club’s management entered into negotiations with Brunson or his representatives before June 30, that is, before the official opening of the free agent market. At that time, the player’s contract with his former team, Dallas, in which he averaged 16.3 points per game and made 4.8 assists last season, had not yet expired.

Such manipulation in the NBA is strictly prohibited by the rules, which the league tightened in 2019. Then the National Basketball Association, which considered it necessary to more severely punish clubs for fraud in the transfer market, published a long list of possible sanctions. Among them are monetary fines of up to $ 10 million, deprivation of the right to choose a draft, removal from office of all those involved, and even cancellation of contracts. The last measure is considered extreme and, clarifies ESPNis regarded as a “virtually non-existent threat”.

For violating these rules, the NBA, for example, back in 2018 punished the Los Angeles Lakers with two fines at once. The Californians were forced to pay $500,000 for the fact that their general manager, Rob Pelinka, spoke with the agent of Paul George, who was playing at that time for the Oklahoma City Thunder. And another $50,000 was paid for the club’s president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, praising Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in an interview. Such behavior, considered in the NBA, could be classified as an attempt to influence the player’s decision to transfer. Last year, the league punished the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls for violating these rules, the former for a deal involving the transfer of Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors, and the latter for Lonzo Ball’s transfer from the New Orleans Pelicans. Both teams lost the right to choose in the second round of the next draft.

This summer, the NBA, in addition to the New York Knicks, was interested in another club – Philadelphia. The league was suspicious of the team’s deal with star guard James Harden. The player, who joined Philadelphia in the winter, opted out of a contractual extension for another season in June. Under it, Harden would have received $ 47.3 million. Later, the defender nevertheless concluded an agreement with Philadelphia, but on much less favorable terms: for a period of two years in the amount of $ 68 million. Such a maneuver, meanwhile, allowed Philadelphia to sign another three players – PJ Tucker, Daniel House and Trevelyn Queen. The NBA believes that the management of the club and James Harden have agreed that Philadelphia will compensate the player for the missing funds in the future, under a new contract. And the league, which has already begun talking to Philadelphia Basketball Operations President Daryl Morey and team personnel as part of the investigation, does not welcome such agreements.

Ekaterina Remizova