Conley bribing Mike Miller?

[action781]

Marc Stein has tweeted @espnsteinline (sorry on mobile device hard to properly cite), that Mike Conley has offered Mike Miller "golfing on him the whole year" if Miller comes to Memphis.

Is this legal? If so, where is the line? Can a player offer "housing for the whole year"? Can players offer things as long as its not a gm? What about coaches?

[bfrombleacher]

It's like LeBron tweeting a Ray Allen Heat pic before Ray Allen was signed. Harmless. In Conley's case it's cute.

Except Conley will get fined and suspended.

[SparzWizard]

It's like LeBron tweeting a Ray Allen Heat pic before Ray Allen was signed. Harmless. In Conley's case it's cute.

Except Conley will get fined and suspended.

Of course Conley will get fined and suspended and LeBron James don't! 

[Moranis]

It's like LeBron tweeting a Ray Allen Heat pic before Ray Allen was signed. Harmless. In Conley's case it's cute.

Except Conley will get fined and suspended.

Of course Conley will get fined and suspended and LeBron James don't! 

There is a huge difference between posting a picture and offering to pay for golf for the whole year.

[Celtics4ever]

Nothing these guys have not been exposed to during recruiting.  I assume many here have not been or had their son or daughter recruited.  I get offered jobs all the time and my son is just a freshman so he would go to that school district.   I got offered 2K in high school.  It's the way of the sports world.  If Conley didn't do it some rich fan or booster would.

[jojowhite10]

Nothing these guys have not been exposed to during recruiting.  I assume many here have not been or had their son or daughter recruited.  I get offered jobs all the time and my son is just a freshman so he would go to that school district.   I got offered 2K in high school.  It's the way of the sports world.  If Conley didn't do it some rich fan or booster would.

Yeah except Mike Miller is a millionaire and you are a regular guy with a kid who is pretty good at sports. Somehow part of be doubts there's going to be a booster trying to convince Miller to join an NBA team.

[pearljammer10]

If I'm Mike Miller I take the deal then just pay for Conleys fine if he gets one (which he shouldn't).

I mean this happens all the time. Of course players are going to recruit other players. I mean Its public that Pierce pursuaded KG to go to the Nets with him. Should Pierce get a fine for persuasion? No.

[D.o.s.]

I suppose you could squint and see collusion, but we don't even know if Mike Miller golfs.


Also, if I'm the Grizzlies, I eat the golf fees and the fine--I can't imagine a player who fits their needs more perfectly than (healthy) Mike Miller.

[Fafnir]

If I'm Mike Miller I take the deal then just pay for Conleys fine if he gets one (which he shouldn't).

I mean this happens all the time. Of course players are going to recruit other players. I mean Its public that Pierce pursuaded KG to go to the Nets with him. Should Pierce get a fine for persuasion? No.

There is a difference between persuasion and promised monetary benefits outside the salary cap.

In this case the monetary benefits could be small, or not. Depends on how swanky a country club/golf course it is. You can drop serious money even by NBA player standards to play golf if you want.

Either way I'm sure Conley will hear about it from the league one way or another.

[Fafnir]

Also, if I'm the Grizzlies, I eat the golf fees and the fine--I can't imagine a player who fits their needs more perfectly than (healthy) Mike Miller.

Of course they would, which is why the NBA won't allow it at all. They don't want any sort of precedence that its okay to give, promise, or even allude to extra benefits outside the salary cap.

[Chris]

This is actually a really good point.  This could definitely be considered extra benefits, and be a violation of the CBA. 

Not sure if it matters where it is being offered by a teammate, and not the club...but it definitely should be something the league would look into.

[Roy H.]

I'd like to know the monetary value of the golfing, I guess.  In general, though, I don't have a problem with it.

These guys are friends.  If Conley had said "dinner's on me if you sign", would it matter?  It's on the same spectrum.

Friends / teammates do each other solids all the time.  When KG first got here, he bought all the rookies expensive suits.  If the team was offering extra benefits, it's an issue.  With teammates, though, I think it's just part of the game.  The only difference between Conley and other players is that Conley was dumb enough to say it in public.

[Fafnir]

This is actually a really good point.  This could definitely be considered extra benefits, and be a violation of the CBA. 

Not sure if it matters where it is being offered by a teammate, and not the club...but it definitely should be something the league would look into.

In this case I think Conley would be considered an agent of the team as he's still under contract.

[D.o.s.]

Also, if I'm the Grizzlies, I eat the golf fees and the fine--I can't imagine a player who fits their needs more perfectly than (healthy) Mike Miller.

Of course they would, which is why the NBA won't allow it at all. They don't want any sort of precedence that its okay to give, promise, or even allude to extra benefits outside the salary cap.

Of course.

Also, can anyone else picture Miller as one of the Nihilists in The Big Lebowski?

-Dunks Conley's head into toilet.
-Picks up bowling ball
-"What is this?"
-Conley lifts his head from the bowl.
-"Clearly you're not a golfer."

[CelticConcourse]

Mikhail Prokhorov.

Andrei Kirilenko.

That is all.