NBA: Are new tampering rules any more enforceable?

Where we are now

The summer of 2019 saw an even bigger boom in player movement. With so much money available around the league, players saw opportunities to link up with the same franchise. Leonard and George went to the LA Clippers, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving set up in Brooklyn and many others changed jerseys.

How these partnerships came to fruition is something the league is trying to manage.

It’s clear that Irving and Durant had been talking about their duality for months. Kawhi Leonard deliberately told Paul George to force a trade to Los Angeles. Al Horford opted out of his deal with the Celtics two weeks before free agency began and the 76ers allotted themselves just enough money to sign him under the cap.

In a reactionary measure to all this chaos, the NBA’s Board of Governors passed stricter rules regarding tampering last Friday.

The push-back was likely spearheaded by owners of small-market teams, afraid that stars will simply leave their teams regardless of how well the organization is run.

And in a way, that’s completely fair; the Raptors did everything right around Leonard, from load management (he never played both halves of a back-to-back) to support cast construction (the role players around Leonard were ideal complements). He still left.

At the same time though, the risks with Leonard were known long before Toronto traded for him. He was an injury risk, having only played nine games in his last season with San Antonio. He also made it clear long before the trade that he had a soft spot for Los Angeles. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2019.

All of these things drove down Leonard’s trade value juuuust enough for the Raptors, a team with a tangible ceiling prior to the trade, to take the risk. They knew what they were getting into and made the trade knowing these risks.

Those complaining about the Paul George situation might want to look at what OKC got for him. Sure he went to greener pastures, but the Thunder front office did a damn good job extracting value.

They forced the Clippers to cede: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, arguably the most valuable trade chip in the league; Danilo Gallinari, who was salary for the purpose of the trade but fought for an All-Star bid last season; four unprotected first-round picks (!!!), a protected first-rounder and two pick swaps.

They might not have the star anymore, but they turned that into enough assets to build a whole damn rotation.