Lakers Fined for Paul George Tampering

[fairweatherfan]

...a whole half a million. That'll teach em 

[TheSundanceKid]

That'll stop them...

[BitterJim]

Seems fair given that they didn't try to get him to agree to anything. I doubt that they got $500k worth of benefit out of it.

[CelticsElite]

So magic johnson goes on national television, illegally says hes interested in paul george. he also is in direction communication with george's people. this is a month after he goes on ESPN 30 for 30 "lakers vs celtics" and calls boston racist for 2 hours straight...

and he just has to pay some pocket change. awesome. take their picks away.

i also dont understand the NBAs letter. it goes against what ESPN is reporting:

"The NBA said the fine was a result of communications between the Lakers and representatives for Paul George, while he was still under contract with the Indiana Pacers."


so they were in direct contact with Georges people. it wasnt just the wink on tv

[BitterJim]

So magic johnson goes on national television, illegally says hes interested in paul george. this is a month after he goes on ESPN 30 for 30 "lakers vs celtics" and calls boston racist for 2 hours straight...

and he just has to pay some pocket change. awesome. take their picks away.

i also dont understand the NBAs letter. it goes against what ESPN is reporting:

"The NBA said the fine was a result of communications between the Lakers and representatives for Paul George, while he was still under contract with the Indiana Pacers."


so they were in direct contact with Georges people. it wasnt just the wink on tv

The wink on TV prompted the league to warn the Lakers.  Pelinka then ignored the warning and contacted his agent anyway.  The fine is for the contact with the agent, not the wink.

And by the way, it's ESPN's reporting that is going against what the NBA's letter says, not the other way around

[jpotter33]

They should be prohibited from signing George in free agency, too.

Hell, we were prohibited from trading with LAC during the whole Doc thing, so why shouldn't they be prohibited from signing him next summer, too? What kind of message will that send out - "As long as you're willing to pay the minimal fine, feel free to break league rules and tamper with other teams' players under contract!"

[gift]

I'm sure the low amount for the fine is related to the amount/type of evidence they were able to obtain.

[KG Living Legend]

They should be prohibited from signing George in free agency, too.

Hell, we were prohibited from trading with LAC during the whole Doc thing, so why shouldn't they be prohibited from signing him next summer, too? What kind of message will that send out - "As long as you're willing to pay the minimal fine, feel free to break league rules and tamper with other teams' players under contract!"

 100% agreed Potter..it's like me fining you 25 cents. Here is how Magic Johnson tosses around 500 K. This is funny.

 https://twitter.com/AnthonyCongi/status/903300871378788352

[timpiker]

$500k is pure bullEdited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. and not nearly enough.  They were given a warning for free then did it again !!! 

[Who]

Needed to be docked draft picks. Nobody will pay note to a $500k fine.

Teams will be freed to do this again and more in the future without more serious repercussions.

[Fafnir]

Yeah without draft or player restriction penalties this won't stop anyone from tampering in the future.

[chicagoceltic]

I would be ok with a 500k fine if it were for Magic's wink on tv.  That would be a small offense and a slap on the wrist fine.  However, there should be a serious penalty for improper contact after they had been warned about improper contact.  As I suspect that the NBA brass sits around wearing "Make LA Great Again" hats I am not surprised that they are being so lax with their punishment.

[Donoghus]

Yeah without draft or player restriction penalties this won't stop anyone from tampering in the future.

Agree.  A restriction on signing the tampee (is that a word?) would've been a good thing here.

[greece66]

What I got is that there was communication of LAL with PG's agent, but not much beyond that.

I share the disappointment, but if this is all they found, it's hard to disagree with the decision.

[Fafnir]

What I got is that there was communication of LAL with PG's agent, but not much beyond that.

I share the disappointment, but if this is all they found, it's hard to disagree with the decision.

I guess.

But when during all-star weekend when suddenly his trade value tanks instantly due to what I assume was tampering its a tough pill to swallow for the Pacers to only get a fine. Especially given the Lakers just print money with their local TV deal.