The NBA will investigate this summer’s free agency period following complaints from owners and top player agents, ESPN reported Tuesday.
The depth of the league’s investigation is unknown at this time, according to the report which cited multiple unnamed league representatives. The expectation is that the deep dive will focus on the beginning of the free agency period. In particular, more than $1 billion worth of contracts were agreed upon and announced in the first 24 hours of the period once it began at 6 p.m. June 30.
Details in and the volume of agreements to come out of that early period raise questions as to whether or not all teams and agents were abiding by rules that require representatives of players and teams to communicate before that period begins. The NBA’s precedent is that it will not punish players for tampering with one another, as player-to-player communication is very difficult to monitor. But there it is likely that the league will look into the scenarios in which players discussed recruitment and package deals outside of the rules as well.
Technically, the punishment could include voiding contracts in the most severe cases or docking teams draft picks. A more common punishment for tampering is fines issued.
There is no guarantee that punishments will be handed down, the league could simply use to investigation to adjust rules following future free agency periods. According to ESPN, the NBA is expected to begin scheduling interviews in the coming days. There is no expected timeline for the conclusion of the investigation.
