NBA: Are new tampering rules any more enforceable?

What it all means

The size of a market isn’t truly what deters players from signing or staying; it’s the organization. Kawhi was traded to Toronto because he fell into their price range; George saw a dead end with an OKC team coming off back-to-back first round playoff exits. Durant left Golden State for reasons beyond what a two-dimensional screen can tell you; ditto for Irving leaving Boston.

The point here isn’t that the rules are unfair or that the NBA is low-key implementing a surveillance state. The point is that they’re trying to tame a beast they don’t have any control over.

The NBA is popular because of the players. They make the league. For as much as I love to watch a quality motion offense or team-wide defensive rotation, when the going gets tough, it comes down to who has the best players. And for quite a while, the NBA has been damn good at telling the world just how valuable those guys are.

2019-20 is set to be a blast. Those players who tampered actually spread out the competitive balance a bit. There’s no clear-cut best team anymore, like there had been for half a decade in Golden State. The league finally has parity and the NBA wants to try and mess that up.

And for what? These players are employees. In no other industry do we berate workers for finding the situation that best suits their interests; only in sports do we hold adults to a standard of “loyalty” or “commitment” like the organization is their parent.

There’s a non-basketball element to these rules as well. Look no further than the Leonard trade of last summer; the Raptors were considered the favorites to trade for him days before it actually happened, despite minimal rumors being leaked pointing their way. There were negotiations going on that certain people knew about behind the scenes and those people bet accordingly.

It’s not a coincidence.

The NBA wants more pieces of that Vegas pie. It’s not unlike what was done to try and deter tanking; no one cares about the “ethics” or “optics” of team-building. It’s all about the greenbacks.

The Board of Governors isn’t wrong or devilish for trying to impose rules. They’re just tackling the wrong issue.