The NBA’s tampering investigation into the New York Knicks for the Jalen Brunson free agency signing could soon be coming to a close. On Monday, the league announced that the Philadelphia Sixers would be docked two second-round picks for tampering with James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Danuel House Jr. in free agency.
The NBA’s investigation into the Sixers reportedly began a few days before the league opened up its investigation into the Knicks. It’d be best to go ahead and prepare for New York to lose a second-round draft pick, even though it’s difficult to argue that the Knicks were tampering with Brunson. The point guard has shared close relationships with people inside the organization since he was young (including his godfather Leon Rose).
Brunson was set to meet with the Knicks and Maverick when free agency began at 6 p.m. ET on June 30, but he canceled his meeting with Dallas and instead agreed to sign with New York. Teams aren’t allowed to communicate with players about a potential deal before the start of free agency.
Free agent guard Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks, his agents Aaron Mintz and Sam Rose of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN. The deal includes a player option on the final season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022
Knicks should prepare to get hit with tampering punishment for Jalen Brunson
Four months have gone by since free agency and with the regular season starting a couple of weeks ago, what happened during the offseason has seemingly been put in the past. Well, that is unless you’re Philadelphia or New York.
Realistically, tampering is something that happens often, and something that will continue to happen. With the Sixers being punished, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to not tamper in the future, but instead that they’re going to likely be more careful with what’s leaked.
Quite honestly, how the NBA punishes teams for tampering isn’t much of a punishment to the team itself. Instead, it hurts the players that are hoping to be drafted. Most recently, the Heat and Bucks were each docked a second-round pick for tampering in the 2022 NBA Draft, meaning that two players went without being drafted. The Bulls will also be without their next second-round pick.
In the coming days, the Knicks will likely learn their fate, which will probably be losing a 2023 second-round draft pick. If that’s what happens, then so be it.
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