NBA: Will the new anti-tampering rules prove to be effective?

History of tampering fines

2005

In 2005, Chris Bosh was playing for the Toronto Raptors and would be entering free agency. Phil Jackson was fined $25,000 for comments that he felt were simply complimentary toward Bosh who he had never seen play before.

2010

In 2010 the league levied several fines for tampering. Not surprisingly, three of them were related to the pending free agency of LeBron James.

• Dallas Mavericks‘ owner Mark Cuban was fined $100,000 saying in part, “Come July 1st, yeah, of course, anybody would be interested in LeBron James.” Cuban went on to discuss the circumstances under which he believed the Mavericks would have an opportunity to land the superstar.
• Atlanta Hawks‘ owner Michael Gearon was fined $25,000 after he publically said he would be willing to pay luxury tax if he could sign James to a max contract
• Phoenix Suns‘ President Steve Kerr was fined $10,000 after jokingly discussing how he would ideally like to be able to sign James

2014

Once again in 2014, we catch up with Phil Jackson who was fined $25,000 for thumbing his nose at the league’s anti-tampering rules. This time Jackson mentioned the possibility of hiring Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Derek Fisher as coach of the New York Knicks.

2017

The Los Angeles Lakers were fined $500,000 after it was determined then general manager Rob Pelinka had made contact with Paul George‘s agent while George was under contract with the Indiana Pacers.

This fine was so hefty because it was the Laker’s second offense in less than a week regarding Paul George. On April 20, Magic Johnson appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and answered Kimmel’s questions regarding who the Lakers’ president would be looking at potentially adding to the roster to “make the Lakers great again.” Multiple sources state that the NBA warned the Lakers about tampering behaviors after Johnson’s appearance.

2018-19

In 2018 Johnson was a repeat offender this time earning a $50,000 fine for comments he made praising Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In 2019, Los Angeles Clippers‘ coach Doc Rivers picked up his own $50,000 fine for comparing Kawahi Leonard to Michael Jordan. On the surface, such comments could have possibly been dismissed as a harmless comparison.

But Adam Silver’s decision seems to have hinged on the fact that by the time Rivers made the comments, it’s was common knowledge that Leonard would be making a play to suit up for a team near his hometown of San Diego, California. And well, we all know how that turned out.