NBA Proposes Rule Changes to Crack Down on Tampering

After one of the wildest summers in NBA history, the league has proposed new rules to crack down on tampering, The Athletic’s Shams Charnia reports.

In an effort to prevent tampering, NBA sent memo to teams about improving compliance, @TheAthletic @Stadium has learned.

Memo proposes that a lead team ops member certify annually that it didn’t engage in impermissible free agency talks; max fine amounts raised significantly.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019

Proposed increases in NBA’s maximum fine penalties for tampering and cap circumvention, @TheAthletic @Stadium has learned:

– Tampering with player/team personnel: $10M, up from $5M.
– Unauthorized agreements: $6M for team; $250K for player.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019

Further proposed rules as NBA works to crack down on tampering: increased enforcement of existing rule prohibiting player-to-player tampering; require team governor to certify no unauthorized benefits were offered/provided; investigatory audits of 5 teams annually, at random.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019

The NBA Board of Governors will vote on Sept. 20 to pass new action items that have been advised across the board, from committees and league office. https://t.co/qQjBPiprom

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2019

The biggest takeaway from the proposed rule changes would be the random audits of five teams each year. It’s hard to say how much of an issue tampering really is, but it’s safe to assume that teams aren’t complying to rules in place, given how quickly most players sign after the deadline during free agency.

Player-to-player tampering became a bigger issue this past season after LeBron James spoke to the media about how Anthony Davis would help the Los Angeles Lakers while he was still a Pelican. We will see if these new rules help crack down, if the board of governors passes them.