In late September 2019, about a month before the new season of the National Basketball Association began, the Board of Governors approved a set of measures giving the league more teeth to enforce anti-tampering rules that had long been in place. Considering the increased player mobility in recent memory, honchos were concerned with developments that indicated provisions in the constitution designed to prevent personalities from influencing players still under contract were being followed in the breach. Among the weapons at the regulators’ disposal was the capacity to audit communications between front offices and player agents.
The decision of the Board of Governors was not made lightly. Principals became alarmed not just with the movements the summer just past had engendered, but with how they came to pass. The seeming speed in which they were executed lifted the curtains on de facto dealings well before the start of free agency. And, to signal that it meant business, the front office took the Bucks to task a mere week after, fining them $50,000 in violation of rules “governing the timing of discussions regarding future player contracts and permissible commitments to players.” The subject of the penalty was a public pronouncement from general manager Jon Horst that underscored the obvious: They would be offering two-time Most Valuable Player awardee Giannis Antetokounmpo a supermax extension.
Significantly, the Bucks again found themselves in hot water the next offseason for trying to put together a sign-and-trade deal (with the Kings that would net them Bogdan Bogdanović) even before free agency began. For the transgression, they were docked their 2022 second-round pick. It was a stiff penalty, but still a lighter one had the league not taken into consideration their “cooperation with the investigation, the absence of evidence of any impermissible early agreement on the terms of a contract between the Bucks and Bogdanović, and the fact that the team ultimately did not sign Bogdanović.”
Fast forward another year, and, this time, the NBA is setting its sights on the Bulls and Heat for their supposed machinations in claiming Alonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry, respectively, through sign-and-trade accords. It will be looking for traces of unsanctioned discussions among teams and players prior to the start of free agency. Needless to say, the league’s intent is to send a clear message that it will brook no transgressions, targeting arrangements that are easier to probe. Unlike free-agency acquisitions, trades are more complex, involving more quarters and needing a longer time to consummate — and, therefore, theoretically impossible to complete when they became public knowledge.
In truth, the league is scratching the surface. Talks of transfers happen all the time, and especially among players. A full two weeks before the Lakers acquired nine-time All-Star Russell Westbrook, for instance, he discussed the opportunity to don the purple and gold with resident top dogs Anthony Davis and LeBron James, and in the latter’s home to boot. Even as existing rules also cover players, however, the NBA has understandably been loath to target them. After all, they drive the product, and hitting them hits the product. Moreover, the news they create and amplify serve to keep the spotlight on the pro scene.
It must be noted that the NBA is swimming against the tide. That said, it cannot but follow through on the September 2019 action of the Board of Governors. Never mind that there is little to no chance of it invalidating the Ball and Lowry accords given the even more damaging effects of such a decision. No matter what happens, though, this much is clear: even those who want to stick to the rules will be compelled to walk the fine line considering that the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
