Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball were two of the most sought-after free agents on the market in the NBA this offseason. So, naturally, it made sense that they’d have a ton of suitors and their deals would get done relatively quickly.
But they seem to have gotten done a little too quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Lowry and Ball’s sign-and-trade deals with the Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively, are going to be investigated by the NBA, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne report.
News that the two point guards were signing their respective deals with their respective teams began to break before free agency began on August 3.
Reporting with @RamonaShelburne on ESPN: The NBA has opened up investigations into possible tampering violations involving two sign-and-trade deals completed in free agency: New Orleans and Chicago centered on Lonzo Ball, and Toronto and Miami centered on Kyle Lowry. Story soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 7, 2021
Whew boy. It’s a tampering investigation. And these things can be pretty serious.
Here’s a quick explainer on why it’s happening, what could happen to both teams and where things go from here.
