According to a report, the NBA is launching an investigation into two recent sign-and-trade deals.
The trade that sent Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat from the Toronto Raptors is one of the deals being investigated.
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
Tampering has always been a gray area in the NBA. It seems that teams often bend the rules when it comes to the restrictions that are in place, and the league rarely enforces any sort of discipline.
Perhaps the teams involved in these sign-and-trade deals crossed a certain boundary.
This wouldn’t be the first time an organization is penalized for tampering. The Milwaukee Bucks were stripped of their second-round pick for the 2022 NBA Draft for violating league rules in this regard.
This will be a very interesting situation to monitor as it develops. The league’s findings will be crucial.
