Community Shootaround: New Anti-Tampering Rules
Tampering has quietly existed in the NBA for decades, but teams, players and agents barely tried to hide it this summer. Several big-money contracts were announced shortly after the official start of free agency on June 30 that were obviously too complex to have been formed during the few minutes in which negotiations were legal.
Teams that lost stars complained loudly about the process, and the league decided action had to be taken. The NBA’s Board of Governors voted yesterday to adopt tough new rules, which include a fine of up to $10MM if it’s determined that “egregious” tampering has taken place.
Commissioner Adam Silver stressed that the penalties may not stop with fines. Suspensions of team executives, forfeiting draft picks and voiding contracts are all now on the table.
“We need to ensure that we’re creating a culture of compliance in this league,” Silver said. “Our teams want to know that they’re competing on a level playing field and frankly don’t want to feel disadvantaged if they are adhering to our existing rules.”
The league also has the authority to review cell phones and other electronic communication devices to look for evidence of tampering. That provision has raised the most concern among team officials, who fear that their privacy may be violated and sensitive information could be leaked.
This is hardly the first time the league has promised to crack down on tampering, but the tough talk has never made a difference in the past. Part of the problem is that many of the sales pitches made to players who are under contract come from other players, which the league acknowledges it can’t prevent. There’s no way to stop players at an All-Star Game or an international competition from talking about becoming NBA teammates some day. And the league can’t do anything if friends like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving make plans to join forces when they hit free agency at the same time.
Previous penalties for tampering have never been strong enough to scare teams. The Clippers and Nets, for instance, wouldn’t care how much they were fined or how many draft picks they had to surrender as long as they get to keep the new stars they added.
We want to get your input. Will these latest rules on tampering make a difference, or will business as usual continue behind the scenes?
Head to our comment section below to share your feedback.
Raptors Notes: Siakam, Roster, Taylor, Tampering
Several coaches and executives believe Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has a strong case for a maximum extension after his breakthrough season, writes Frank Urbina of HoopsHype. Siakam was fighting for playing time in his first two NBA campaigns, but he earned Most Improved Player honors for 2018/19 by posting a 16.9/6.9/3.1 line in 80 games.
“With Toronto in the situation that they’re in, no longer having Kawhi Leonard or Danny Green, Pascal Siakam may be a safe bet for them and they may want to give him a max extension to lock him up,” one Western Conference coach said. “I’ve been impressed with his development; he’s improved into a highly, highly serviceable player who’s very efficient and does a lot for that team. From the outside looking in, it seems like he’ll be able to continue his development too. He seems highly motivated and very grateful to be in the situation he’s in and he doesn’t take anything for granted.”
However, a couple of executives questioned whether Toronto should commit to a full max deal right now, saying it might be wiser to let him play out this season and negotiate with him as a restricted free agent next summer.
There’s more from Toronto:
- Doug Smith of The Toronto Star takes a look at the battle for roster spots as training camp draws closer. With 12 players holding guaranteed contracts and three with Exhibit 10 deals, Smith expects the competition for the three open slots to be decided among Cameron Payne, Isaiah Taylor, Malcolm Miller, Chris Boucher and Dewan Hernandez.
- The two-year contract that Taylor signed this week contains a $50K guarantee for the first season, but no protection beyond that, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. If he stays on the roster, Taylor will receive $1.62MM for this season and $1.76MM for 2020/21. Marks notes that it’s similar to the deal that Payne received, though Payne’s guarantee was $150K.
- Columnist Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star calls the NBA’s newly-adopted tougher stance on tampering more of a “nuisance” than a deterrent. He adds that little could be done to punish the Clippers for their aggressive recruitment of Leonard last season because the wealth of owner Steve Ballmer makes a $10MM fine insignificant, and most of the team’s upcoming draft picks already belong to Oklahoma City from the Paul George trade.
Pistons Notes: Drummond, Kennard, J. Johnson, Final Roster Spot
With possible free agency looming next summer, Pistons center Andre Drummond has put a priority on conditioning, relays Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Coach Dwane Casey said Drummond has spent the offseason working out with assistants Tim Grgurich and Sean Sweeney two or three times a day in Las Vegas and is “in the best shape since I’ve been around him.”
After this season ends, Drummond will have a decision to make on a $28,751,774 player option for 2020/21. He recently came under fire from fans for talking about how excited he is for a shot at free agency and had to clarify his remarks on Instagram. Casey decided in the second half of last season to shelve the experiment of having Drummond shoot more 3-pointers, but he still believes his center can be effective as a decision-maker in the offense.
There’s more today from Detroit:
- One of Casey’s training camp decisions will be whether to use Bruce Brown or Luke Kennard in the starting lineup, the coach tells Langlois in a separate story. “The issue with Luke in the first unit – it’s not an issue, it’s a good thing – but it’s just you kind of take away one of his strengths as far as his pick-and-roll game, his ball-handling game,” Casey said. “There’s only so many pick-and-roll games with that first unit. You’ve got Blake (Griffin) in the pick and roll, Reggie (Jackson) in the pick and roll, you’ve got Bruce running pick and roll some and now you’ve got Andre bringing the ball down the floor.”
- Joe Johnson‘s new contract comes with a $220K guarantee and more incentives the longer he stays on the roster, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Johnson’s guaranteed money will increase to $1.37MM if he earns a roster spot for opening night and $2.56MM if he remains on the team through January 7.
- The Pistons have several options for the final spot on their roster heading into camp, observes Duncan Smith of Forbes. Detroit has 14 guaranteed contracts, leaving Johnson and Christian Wood as the most likely candidates outside of that group to make the team, according to Smith. He adds that the front office could consider opening another spot by moving on from Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk or Khyri Thomas, who have minimum contracts, or Langston Galloway. who has an expiring deal worth $7.3MM.
Heat Notes: Roster, Nunn, Adebayo, Mulder
Because of hard-cap restrictions, Miami’s training camp roster is virtually set now that Daryl Macon has been signed to the 20th spot, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat can’t exceed a $138.9MM salary limit, and they are so close to that figure that they can’t offer players like Macon more than an Exhibit 10 contract. As things currently stand, Miami will be limited to 14 players on its final roster, with the remaining six battling for a pair of two-way contracts.
The only way to create some flexibility would be to waive Kendrick Nunn, who has just a $150K guarantee on his $1,416,852 salary. However, Winderman doesn’t expect that to happen because the rookie guard showed promise in Summer League and the front office can’t afford to waste $150K. Miami can’t convert Nunn’s contract to a two-way deal without first waiving him and taking the chance that he might be claimed by another team.
There’s more from Miami:
- At 22, Bam Adebayo has most of his career ahead of him, but he already feels like a “Heat Lifer” after the team picked up the fourth-year option on his rookie-scale contract, relays Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo became the first player from the 2017 draft class to earn that distinction, as Miami made it official more than a month ahead of the October 31 deadline. “They’re pushing me to be more of a leader,” Adebayo said. “So, yeah, I do feel like I’ve become a Heat Lifer type of guy and just being more involved and having like a (Udonis Haslem) responsibility when it comes to my teammates.”
- Team USA won’t have many good memories from this year’s World Cup, but Adebayo believes he benefited from his experience as part of the Select Team in Las Vegas, Chiang adds. “Just the atmosphere, because everybody that comes from different teams are like No. 1 or No. 2 options,” Adebayo explained. “So just being out there with a lot of guys and just hearing the stories from the locker room, their perspective and just sharing mine. It’s just like a cool ordeal.”
- Mychal Mulder, who signed with the Heat earlier this week, was named to the G League Elite Roster for the 2019 NBA G League International Challenge in Uruguay, Winderman tweets. However, he skipped the event to focus on training camp.
Warriors Notes: Bowman, Thompson, Dunleavy Jr., Rookies
Rookie Ky Bowman is thrilled to have an opportunity with the Warriors after being passed over on draft night, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Bowman signed a two-way deal in July and is hoping to work his way into a standard contract.
“It all starts with being undrafted, knowing I got a lot more to prove to the teams that didn’t draft me and to show the kids back home that you can make it if you put your faith and your work into it,” he said. “I’ve just been praying and working every day and every night, being in the gym on nights that people (hang out). It was a commitment to myself to be successful.”
Bowman had a rough introduction to the league as part of the Warriors’ Summer League team, averaging 2.3 PPG and shooting just 22% from the floor in four games. He said he has learned a lot more during offseason workouts with his new teammates.
“A lot of people don’t get here, it still doesn’t feel real, but it’s an honor to get here,” Bowman said. “I’m trying to embrace every moment, trying to pick up things from the guys who are here. Even when I am guarding Stephen Curry), learning different moves that he’s doing, things I’m trying to work on to become as good as a player.”
There’s more Warriors news to pass along:
- Two knee specialists believe Klay Thompson is taking a significant risk by planning to play this season, relays Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. Dr. Tim Hewett, who has studied the biomechanics of the knee for the Mayo Clinic and served as director of Ohio State’s Sports Health and Performance Institute, and Dr. Christopher Nagelli of the Mayo Clinic presented a paper recently suggesting that athletes with ACL tears should rest for two full years. “Please do share that with Klay,” Hewett said. “… People don’t like to hear it but it does not change the facts, and that facts are that you’re at risk for re-injury before two years and you won’t be the same player in the first year.”
- Former Warriors player Mike Dunleavy Jr. is rising in influence as the team’s assistant GM, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Dunleavy had served as Golden State’s Eastern scout since 2017 and watched D’Angelo Russell in person more than anyone else in the organization. He played a key role in finalizing a sign-and-trade once GM Bob Myers learned that Kevin Durant was joining the Nets.
- NBA.com takes a look at the Warriors’ three draft picks, Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall and Alen Smailagić, and what they might be able to contribute this season.
Hawks Sign Tahjere McCall
2:01pm: The Hawks have officially signed McCall, the team announced today in a press release.
10:47am: Tahjere McCall has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Hawks, tweets Ben Stinar of AmicoHoops. McCall’s agent, Andre Buck of Arete Sports, confirmed the deal, Stinar adds.
The 25-year-old shooting guard’s NBA experience is limited to four minutes in one game with the Nets last season. He has spent most of his time with Long Island in the G League after going undrafted out of Tennessee State in 2017. McCall was among 80 players invited to participate in the G League Elite Camp in May.
The signing brings Atlanta to the league limit of 20 players heading into training camp. The Hawks have just 13 guaranteed contracts, so McCall will have a shot at winning at roster spot.
Nuggets Notes: Beasley, Hernangomez, Bol, Cancar
Possible extensions for Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez are the last pieces of business the Nuggets may address before the opening of training camp, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Denver’s front office acted quickly to give Jamal Murray a max extension, but the others aren’t clear-cut decisions, and Singer examines the positives and negatives of reaching deals with both players before the October 21 deadline.
Beasley emerged as a valuable bench player last season after injuries to Gary Harris and Will Barton. He averaged 15.9 PPG and shot 55% from the field as a starter, including 50% on 3-pointers. He enters this season as Harris’ primary backup, but still needs to improve on defense before coach Michael Malone will be comfortable playing him late in games. Singer speculates that based on last year’s performance, Beasley may want to skip an extension and try his luck as a restricted free agent next summer.
Hernangomez is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him fall out of the rotation by the second half of the season. He had core surgery after the season ended and is coming off a strong performance with Spain’s gold medal-winning World Cup team. Hernangomez doesn’t have an established role and figures to compete for playing time with Barton, Torrey Craig, Michael Porter Jr. and Jerami Grant.
There’s more today from Denver:
- It may be time for the Nuggets to move some of their depth in exchange for an established star, suggests Nick Kosmider of The Athletic. If the Wizards decide to part with Bradley Beal, for example, Kosmider believes Denver could put together a competitive offer involving Harris, Porter and a future first-rounder or possibly Hernangomez, Monte Morris, Beasley and a future pick. Other possible targets could include Kevin Love, Jeff Teague or one of the Raptors‘ veterans.
- Bol Bol may spend his entire rookie season in the G League, Kosmider states in a mailbag column. Bol was a highly touted college prospect before injuries cut his season short, and the Nuggets view him as a project that will take time to develop, Kosmider adds, which is why he was signed to a two-way contract. Bol’s progress may be complicated because Denver doesn’t have a direct G League affiliate, which means much of the work will be done by another organization.
- Vlatko Cancar may be in the same position, but his standard contract gives him a better chance to win a role in training camp, Kosmider notes in the same piece.
Southwest Notes: T. Jones, Rockets, Nowitzki, Ingram
After carving out a role as a valuable reserve during his four years in Minnesota, Tyus Jones tells David Cobb of The Commercial Appeal that he’s looking forward to a fresh start with the Grizzlies. The Timberwolves elected not to match Jones’ three-year, $24MM offer sheet, sending him to a new organization for the first time in his NBA career.
“The thing that impresses me is everyone knows the goal, and that’s we’re one team trying to improve and trying to win a lot of games this year,” Jones said. “Everyone has the best interest of the guy next to them and everyone is looking out for the guy next to them. That’s what it takes to be a great team.”
Part of the point guard’s duties will be to serve as a mentor to rookie Ja Morant, the second selection in this year’s draft. It may seem like an unusual responsibility for a 23-year-old, but Jones virtually qualifies as an elder statesman on the rebuilding Grizzlies.
“It’s weird when you look at it in the grand picture, in the grand scheme of things,” Jones said. “I’m 23, but I’m one of the older guys on the team. We have at lot of younger guys just in terms of the NBA years. But that’s what you get when you come into the league at 19.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Rockets‘ addition of Thabo Sefolosha could come at the cost of Ben McLemore or Michael Frazier, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad. Even though GM Daryl Morey has said he has the freedom to pay the luxury tax, Nahmad cautions that he won’t do it to keep an average player. Nahmad expects Houston to either start the season with the minimum of 14 players on its roster or possibly keep 15 with the intention to make a salary-cutting trade by the February deadline (Twitter link).
- Mark Cuban plans to talk with recently retired star Dirk Nowitzki about joining the Mavericks‘ ownership group, relays Dalton Trigg of DallasBasketball. “I’ll have the convo with Dirk in the future,” Cuban said. “There is a lot of things involved to make it all work. But it would be awesome.”
- The Pelicans should take a cautious approach toward an extension for Brandon Ingram, contends Bryan Toporek of Forbes. Although Ingram has been a full participant in offseason workouts, Toporek believes his health concerns make him too much of a risk unless he agrees to a discount somewhere in the neighborhood of the three-year, $52MM deal that Caris LeVert accepted with the Nets.
Heat Notes: Macon, Mulder, Butler, Bonuses
Point guard Daryl Macon appears to be the favorite to get the 20th invitation to the Heat‘s training camp, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Macon played for Miami’s Summer League team last year after going undrafted, but turned down the Heat’s offer of an Exhibit 10 contract to sign a two-way deal with the Mavericks. He got into eight games with Dallas, but spent most of the season with the Texas Legends in the G League.
The Mavs waived him in July, and he has spent the past two weeks doing on-court work with the Heat, a source tells Jackson. If Macon does join the team for camp, he will be part of a six-way competition for the two-way contract slots, along with big men Kyle Alexander and Chris Silva, swingman Davon Reed, combo guard Jeremiah Martin and shooting guard Mychal Mulder. Those who aren’t signed will likely be ticketed for the organization’s G League team in Sioux Falls. Jackson notes that because of hard cap restrictions, the Heat can’t sign any of those six players to standard contracts.
There’s more from Miami, all courtesy of Jackson:
- Bam Adebayo had advance knowledge that the Heat were going to sign Mulder, his former teammate at Kentucky. Mulder is an intriguing physical prospect because although he stands just 6’4″, his hands are larger than Adebayo’s and he has a 44-inch vertical leap. He averaged 13.7 PPG and shot 41.3% on 3-pointers in the G League last season with Windy City. “That’s one of my guys. I kind of knew before he knew,” Adebayo said. “I gave him like a heads up, just so he wouldn’t be surprised or he didn’t expect something.”
- Appearing on Zach Lowe’s ESPN podcast, J.J. Redick raved about his experiences with former Sixers teammate Jimmy Butler, whom the Heat acquired in a four-team deal as the centerpiece of their offseason. “I love Jimmy and would play with Jimmy again,” Redick said. “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to play basketball, but if there was ever an opportunity to link up with him again, I’d be happy to jump on board with that. He is, I think, in the upper tier of two-way players and really in the upper tier of offensive players, period. … The narrative about Jimmy being a bad guy, I just don’t buy it. It’s not true.”
- Jackson also passes along a note from ESPN’s Bobby Marks about contract incentives that could raise Miami’s tax bill. Dion Waiters would get a $1.2MM bonus for playing at least 70 games, while Kelly Olynyk has a $400K incentive for reaching the playoffs and another $1.4MM if he plays 1,700 minutes. If all those marks are reached, the Heat’s bill will rise from $3.8MM to $8.3MM.
Klay Thompson Wants To Be Part Of Olympic Team
Despite a torn ACL that will sideline him for most of the upcoming season, Warriors guard Klay Thompson is committed to representing his country in the 2020 Olympics, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
“I would love to play (for) Team USA,” Thompson said. “That is the plan. I would love to be on the Olympic team.”
Thompson was part of the team that went undefeated during the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Although he shot just 36.4% from the field in eight games, he averaged 9.9 PPG as the Americans cruised to the gold medal.
He would love for his next Olympic experience to include his fellow Splash Brother, Stephen Curry, who had to withdraw in 2016 after suffering an MCL sprain in the playoffs. Although they’ve never played in the Olympics together, Curry and Thompson were teammates on the gold medal squad in the 2014 World Cup.
“That would be amazing,” Thompson said about the possibility of teaming up with Curry in the Olympics. “Amazing. Because even when we played in the World Championships together, we were barely on the floor together.”
The Americans are coming off their worst international performance since NBA players began participating in 1992, finishing seventh at this year’s World Cup. That was preceded by a series of big names declining invitations to training camp or pulling out before the final roster was announced, but it appears that won’t be a problem in 2020. Thompson, Curry and Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard have already announced their intentions to play in the Olympics.
“It was hard to watch us lose,” Thompson said. “Those guys, they sacrificed their summers for that. I’m not going to dog them for losing, though. The world is good.”