Los Angeles Times - 21.09.2019

D10 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

H

IGHLIGHTS

SPECIAL GUESTS

CelebappearancesandperformancesbyKrisLondon,

Jesser, Tristan Jass, Zack TTG and more.

FOOD TRUCKS

Grub up with some of our favorite L.A. food trucks

including Pinch of Flavor, VCHOS Truck, and

Baby’s Badass Burgers.

MUSIC

DJ Mal-Ski and MC Knowa will bekeeping

the crowd entertained.

LAstreetfestival.com/REGISTER

THE FESTIVAL KICKS OFF SEPTEMBER 20-21 IN EL SEGUNDO

REGISTER FOR FREE AT

NBA

It wasn’t a televised
wink, an improper commu-
nication with an agent, a
plan to get around the sala-
ry cap or a comment about a
highly coveted superstar
that pushed the NBA to act.
But all those things Los
Angeles’ pro basketball
teams have done in the last
four years — combined with
a farcical free-agent period
this summer — prompted
the league to try to combat
something most people
consider largely unenforce-
able: tampering.
The NBA’s Board of
Governors on Friday unani-
mously increased the maxi-
mum fine for tampering to
$10 million. Violations can
also result in the suspension
of executives, forfeitures of
draft picks and the voiding
of contracts. Teams will
have their communications
randomly audited and
executives could have their
communication devices
confiscated as part of inves-
tigations.
“There was a strong view,
I think, of every single per-
son in the room that we
need to ensure that we’re
creating a culture of compli-
ance in this league and that
our teams want to know
that they’re competing on a
level playing field,” NBA
Commissioner Adam Silver
said, “and frankly, [teams]
don’t want to feel disadvan-
taged if they are adhering to
our existing rules.”
The extent to which
teams were following the
rules is debatable. Some
NBA executives have equa-
ted tampering to speeding
— who sticks to the posted
speed limits? But without
consistent enforcement of
the tampering rules on the
NBA books — ones that

severely limit how execu-

tives can speak about play-

ers under contract with

different teams — the water

has been murky.

In 2014, the NBA fined

the Clippers $250,000 for

discussing a possible en-

dorsement deal during

contract talks with DeAn-

dre Jordan. The Lakers,

who weren’t fined when

Magic Johnson, appearing

on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,”

gave an exaggerated wink

when talking about then-

Pacer Paul George, did get

popped for $500,000 for

improper communications

between general manager

Rob Pelinka and George’s

agent.

And Johnson and Clip-

pers coach Doc Rivers both

were fined $50,000 for talk-

ing about players on other

teams — Johnson for an-

swering a question about

the similarities between

himself and Bucks star

Giannis Antetokounmpo

and Rivers for comparing

Leonard to Michael Jordan

during a TV show aired by

one of the NBA’s broadcast

partners.

Alone, none of these

incidents was egregious

enough to act. But when

things got silly during the

offseason, the NBA’s gover-

nors had to act. Thirty

minutes before teams were

allowed to speak to free

agents June 30, more than

$1.3 billion in deals were

reportedly agreed upon —

revealing a blatant disre-

gard for the rules.

“The ultimate goal here

is to ensure compliance and

to ensure that there’s that

appropriate tension that

exists at the team,” Silver

said. “So there is sort of a

significant threat that if a

team doesn’t comply that

there will be consequences.”

Enacting those conse-

quences will still be a chal-

lenge. Whether it’s player-

to-player communication,

which seems hard to regu-

late, or executive-to-agent

discussions that can now

either be had in person or

through any other number

of untraceable means, the

NBA has its hands full when

it comes to catching people

breaking these rules.

The NBA’s hope is by

upping the penalties — and

by reminding the actors how

severe the consequences

can be — that NBA execu-

tives, coaches, players and

player agents will all behave

themselves.

It’s a big ask, but one the

NBA and Silver felt they

needed to make.

“I think the things we did

today were areas where we

already have rules on the

books,” Silver said. “And

essentially the league was

coming in at the direction of

our teams and saying, ‘I’ll

accept responsibility. You

need to do a better job en-

forcing the rules that are

already on your books and

do a better job ensuring that

there is a culture around the

league where people believe

there are absolute conse-

quences if you don’t play by

the rules.’ ”

What is traveling?

The “gather” step — a

move popularized by play-

ers like James Harden —

has often been viewed as a

travel, but instead of ban-

ning the move, the NBA

updated the language in its

rule book to try to better

define it.

“One of the most misun-

derstood rules in our game

is how traveling is inter-

preted and appropriately

called,” said Byron Spruell,

NBA president of league

operations. “Revising the

language of certain areas of

the rule is part of our three-

pronged approach to ad-

dress the uncertainty

around traveling. This

approach also includes an

enforcement plan to make

traveling a point of empha-

sis for our officiating staff,

along with an aggressive

education plan to increase

understanding of the rule by

players, coaches, media and

fans.”

The NBA will also re-

quire teams to submit their

starting lineups 30 minutes

before game time in order to

increase transparency. The

old rule required teams to

submit their starters 10

minutes before the tip.

NBA hopes it doesn’t pay to tamper

Top fine is increased

to $10 million for a

rule that has been

tough to enforce.

DAN WOIKE
ON THE NBA

LAKERS GENERAL MANAGER Rob Pelinka, left, and former president of basketball operations Magic

Johnson have been involved in a couple of tampering incidents in the last few years.

Wally SkalijLos Angeles Times