According to multiple sources close to ESPN, the NBA has opened an investigation to get details on how free agency operated this summer. The league decided to take this step because of growing concerns from team governors (owners) and agents.
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At the moment, we don’t know what the NBA will precisely investigate, but it appears that it will likely focus on some of the earliest free agency deals on June 30. It was the first day teams, and agents were allowed to open negotiations.
During the board of governors meeting earlier this month in Las Vegas, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that an investigation could take place in the near future. NBA governors raised some concerns about early deals in this summer’s free agency and were worried that tampering rules might have been violated.
Only in the opening 24 hours of the free agency, over a billion dollars in contracts were agreed upon. This means that some negotiations likely took place before June 30 and also were concluded well before the opening day of free agency.
Even though it is technically against league rules for players to join forces with other players and work together on moves before the opening of free agency, the NBA wouldn’t punish players. The best example of such players’ co-operation is Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s move to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The NBA has the right to punish teams for breaching league rules during free agency. It has an option to issue fines, and in rare cases, the teams could lose draft picks or NBA could even void players contracts. This NBA’s investigation will likely not lead to any formal punishments, but it could become a model for the free-agency system in years to come.
