NBA's Tampering Investigations Into Bulls, Heat Remain Ongoing
At his annual State of the NBA address, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was asked for an update on the tampering investigations into the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. Silver only said, "That process is still ongoing."
Both the Bulls and Heat are being investigated for circumventing free agency rules by entering into early agreements with Lonzo Ball (Chicago) and Kyle Lowry (Miami). It's believe that both the Bulls and Heat are facing fines and potential loss of draft picks, if it is found they jumped the gun in free agency.
There is past precedent here, as the Milwaukee Bucks were made to forfeit a 2022 second round pick. The Bucks were found to have illegally agreed to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Sacramento Kings via a sign-and-trade transaction, before free agency had opened.
In Lowry's case, as soon as 2021 free agency opened it was reported that the Heat, Lowry and Toronto Raptors had agreed to a sign-and-trade transaction sending Lowry to Miami. This type of deal involves the player negotiation a contract with the new team, and then the two teams agreeing on trade parameters.
For Ball, it was a similar situation between himself, the Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans. Like Lowry, Ball's deal was reported just moments after free agency opened.
NBA teams are not allowed to negotiate contract terms, nor sign-and-trade agreements, until after free agency opens. It's a regular occurrence for contract terms to be announced seconds after the negotiating period is live. It is rare for those deals to involve somewhat complex sign-and-trade agreements.
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, Khareem Sudlow
