Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
As we noted this morning, the NBA was questioning the legitimacy of the proposed deals that would send Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles in exchange for DeAndre Jordan and two first round picks. Deals in the NBA are prohibited from being made with “contingencies or side deals.”
The league appears to believe the Celtics are Clippers are simply trying to find ways to get around these rules by making two separate trades – Garnett for Jordan and picks for Rivers.
Earlier today, NBA Commissioner David Stern discussed the trade on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio.
“If we know what the parties really want to do is just one deal and that they’re going to break it into two for the purposes of trying to avoid the restrictions that the Collective Bargaining Agreement places on them,” Stern told ESPN Radio. “Well, we know how to deal with that as well.”
Obviously, the Celtics and Clippers have a side deal Garnett is waiving his no trade clause with a contingency, that Rivers remain his coach when he is in Los Angeles.
The league has shown that it will veto deals before – the league nixed a trade sending Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers just before the 2011-12 season began.
(H/T to SB Nation)
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