NBA Free Agency: Commissioner Adam Silver Insists League Has ‘Moved On’ From Lakers Tampering Fines
Adam Silver, NBA
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

With the start of NBA free agency on the horizon, plenty of eyes will be on the Los Angeles Lakers and what they do. The franchise has grand plans of adding big names this summer, but have to be very careful about how they go about doing business.

The Lakers have already been fined twice in the last calendar year for tampering. Though one was rather dubious at best, stemming from president of basketball operations Magic Johnson simply complimenting Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Meanwhile, first fine came when the league found improper communication between general manager Rob Pelinka and the agent for Paul George.

With these incidents so fresh in everyone’s minds, some may have believed that the NBA would be keeping a very close eye on the Lakers. However, commissioner Adam Silver insisted that the league and the Lakers have moved on, via Tania Ganguli of the LA Times:

“The Lakers were found to have violated the rules,” Silver said. “They paid a price for it and we’ve all moved on.”

Johnson and Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss reportedly called a meeting to warn front office personnel of potential tampering charges.

That price for tampering a heavy one, especially for the first incident. While the comments about Antetokounmpo produced just a $50,000 fine, the Lakers were fined a record $500,000 for the illegal contact between Pelinka and George’s agent.

Of course, George is one of the main free agency targets of the Lakers as well as other teams this summer. George has proven himself to be one of the league’s best two-way players, and is a native of Palmdale, Calif. Despite that, he might very well re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With the previous incidents behind them and George appearing unlikely to come home, the Lakers’ focus presumably will lie square on LeBron James.

As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in preparation for the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy & Cookies Policy. The updated Privacy & Cookies Policy will take effect on May 22, 2018. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy. We recommend that you read our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy in full.

You May Also Like

Lakers News: LeBron James And Anthony Davis Focused On 2019-20 NBA Season, Not 2020 NBA Free Agency

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially kicked off 2019 NBA training camp and all eyes are on the team’s All-Star duo of…

Byron Scott On Lakers Future: ‘This Summer Is Going To Be Big’

The Los Angeles Lakers currently sit second to last in the Western…

Lakers Must Target Shooters This Summer

Much has been written about the Los Angeles Lakers’ poor defense the past few years, and the criticism is well deserved…

NBA DFS: Kristaps Porzingis Among Top Picks On DraftKings, Kyle Kuzma Top Laker

Among the top DraftKings picks for Wednesday are Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks and Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers.