The NBA free agency and signing period is going on with full force. Teams around the league have been rushing to make the best moves to strengthen their rosters. While some teams formed a big 3 others maintained their core and took some calculated moves.
With all the trades and signings comes the issue of tampering. Players try to talk other athletes into joining their squad before the NBA free agency period opens. This year a lot of major moves have taken place. One saw Lonzo Ball move to the Chicago Bulls and another saw Kyle Lowry end his era with the Raptors to move to Miami. It has come to notice that these sign-and-trade deals might not be squeaky clean.
NBA Free Agency: Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball Trades
The free agency period began on the 2nd of August at 6 PM ET. Before this time trades and signing were not allowed to be discussed. Right after the free agency period started, The Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans made a huge move.
Lonzo Ball signed an $85 million contract for four years with the Chicago Bulls. This move was made to strengthen the roster and give Zach LaVine more support on the court.
New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball is landing on a four-year, $85 million contract with Chicago Bulls in a sign-and-trade agreement, his agent and @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 2, 2021
Up North, Kyle Lowry entered free agency and decided to say his goodbye to the Toronto Raptors. Lowry signed an amazing deal with the Miami Heat. He was excited to join his long-time friend Jimmy Buttler at the South beach. He leaves behind a legacy at the Toronto Raptors and is truly the greatest Raptor of all time.
MIAMI HEAT X KYLE LOWRY
LET'S GOO!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥@MiamiHEAT // @ftx_us pic.twitter.com/84oA5jmRPB
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 6, 2021
NBA is investigating potential tampering violations in the Lonzo Ball and K-Low trade deals
Both the Lonzo and the Lowry trade deals took place right went free-agency opened. The speed and the smoothness of the trades definitely looked like it was all discussed way before.
There were a lot of rumours about both these men leaving their respective teams. The Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans will have an extremely difficult time trying to prove that they did not tamper with this deal. For the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors, the Heat are in deeper waters. The rumours suggest that Jimmy Buttler has been trying to convince Kyle Lowry to join Miami for a really long time. An investigation has been raised by the NBA to look into the tampering allegations.
NBA is expected to examine early contact on those deals ahead of the opening of free agency at 6 PM ET on Monday, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/Bl90sO2qj1
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 7, 2021
If found guilt the teams can face two types of punishments. One would be to give up a draft pick and the other and most extreme option would be to void the deal.