OKC Thunder and small markets set to benefit from new NBA tampering rules
The big question will be how the league can enforce the greatest issue which is the players talking to other players. Not only will this be a difficult situation to monitor it would require others potentially squealing on these conversations happening.
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Let’s presume for example Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant spent months discussing if the Knicks or Nets would be their landing spot. Then factor in DeAndre Jordan was one of the players Durant was also keen to play with.
The original landing spot likely favored the Knicks (who Jordan played for last season) but when Zion Williamson landed in New Orleans instead and Durant suffered his Achilles tendon injury the trio seemed to shift their chosen landing spot to Irving’s preferred destination with the Brooklyn Nets. Flash forward and all three players confirmed on June 30th they were signing with the Nets which in itself seems unrealistic.
Both Irving and Durant ended up switching teams via a sign and trade and that fact lends itself to the belief the Celtics and Warriors were involved prior to the moratorium. Especially the Celtics who also announced on June 30th they would sign Kemba Walker via a sign and trade for Terry Rozier and move Irving to the Nets. Clearly, the Celtics knew Irving was leaving and made overtures in advance to replace Irving with Walker and send out Rozier to accommodate the deal.
In the case of Kawhi Leonard, leaks revealed his camp requested outrageous demands which are illegal to both the Raptors and Lakers. Because of these demands, it led to those clubs wondering what precisely the Clippers included in their package. Josh Lewenberg of TSN in Toronto offered the following:
"According to sources, Leonard and his camp – namely Uncle Dennis – asked for a lot from the Raptors in that meeting, things players don’t generally ask for in standard contract negotiations. In some cases, they were asking for things that Ujiri – one of the most well-compensated executives in the league – wouldn’t have even had at his disposal. Their requests were “unreasonable”, a source said, which made the Raptors wonder whether Leonard was seriously considering them at all."