The Nets Recruitment of Kyrie Irving by Dinwiddie: not tampering? Technically

[csfansince60s]

It all started last summer at a Harvard Business School summer class.

This is a great read with excellent insight into the ways teams skirt the rules and the spirit of the law.

https://www.netsdaily.com/2019/7/2/20679941/how-a-harvard-class-led-to-a-nets-coup

This being Sean Marks’ version of the Nets, the recruitment was not random, not ad hoc. Dinwiddie had his marching orders. “It was Dinwiddie’s job to lead the recruiting of Irving,” Stein writes, quoting “one person familiar with the Nets’ pursuit.”

Across the country, Dinwiddie was “at the forefront” of the months long push to persuade Irving to prioritize the Nets over the Knicks and to nudge Durant in the same direction, according to one person familiar with the Nets’ pursuit of Irving who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Stein doesn’t say what points Dinwiddie emphasized in his pitch to Irving, but pointed out Dinwiddie took advantage of “the league’s policy not to deem player-to-player discussions as potential tampering violations.”

I know a lot of people accept this just as many have accepted PED use as “part of the game” but it shouldn’t be, and I think it’s a sad state of affairs regarding the NBA.

The article is a short read… I highly recommend it

[KGs Knee]

Meh...the truth of the matter is there is nothing that can really be done about it.

Even if the league decided they wanted to ban this sort of backchannel recruitment, the players would just be more secretive about it.  You can't stop players from interacting with each other off the court, and you can't monitor their every discussion with each other.

[goCeltics]

good riddance anyway

[csfansince60s]

good riddance anyway

I agree....glad he’s gone...however,

...Players acting as agents for their team in sowing seeds of discontent with other teams damages a franchise and even a fan base.

The NBA Started down this slippery slope when they allowed Le Broid to conspire with Wade and Riley to form that unholy trinity...
Cavs and a Raps franchises suffered and the cHeat  EDIT::: and the NBA gained.

[PhoSita]

No way to stop it, all you can do is try to make your team seem like a good place to be.

Of course "good" means different things for different players.


Some players prize loyalty, other prize getting to play a certain style, others want to be empowered to do whatever they want on the floor, etc etc.


I would say that the strategy the Celts seem to have taken this summer, i.e. prioritizing adding a lot of good character guys to build out the back half of the roster, is a good idea.  Especially since the Celts need to rehab their image after a year in which many of the players on the team were obviously unhappy.



Used to be that we'd hear all the time that players around the league really want to play for Brad and that everybody agrees that it's really great to get to play for Brad Stevens.

The Celtics need to get back to that.

[csfansince60s]

No way to stop it, all you can do is try to make your team seem like a good place to be.

Of course "good" means different things for different players.


Some players prize loyalty, other prize getting to play a certain style, others want to be empowered to do whatever they want on the floor, etc etc.


I would say that the strategy the Celts seem to have taken this summer, i.e. prioritizing adding a lot of good character guys to build out the back half of the roster, is a good idea.  Especially since the Celts need to rehab their image after a year in which many of the players on the team were obviously unhappy.



Used to be that we'd hear all the time that players around the league really want to play for Brad and that everybody agrees that it's really great to get to play for Brad Stevens.

The Celtics need to get back to that.

TP...agree with all you say and how it was said.

That being sad, it begs the question for me then as to how much Dinwiddie’s interference with Irvings pseudo-intellectual, woke questionably fertile and discerning mind negatively Impacted our culture here and consequently Brad Stevens reputation around the league.

[saltlover]

If this is verifiable, Silver needs to come down on Brooklyn.  The NBA sent teams a letter this season about tampering:

In a memo obtained by ESPN on Friday morning, league counsel seemed to be alluding to James' scenario, saying, "employment contracts are to be respected and conduct that interferes with contractual employment relationships is prohibited.

"This principle is particularly important in today's media environment, where any actions or comments relating to potential player movement receive immediate and widespread public attention. Teams should be entitled to focus their efforts on the competition this season with the players they have under contract, without having to divert attention or resources to conduct or speculation regarding the potential destinations of those players in future seasons once their contracts expire."

If Dinwiddie’s actions came at the behest of Marks, that would seem to go directly against what the NBA spelled out in its letter:

While the NBA won't punish players for individual comments about interest of playing with another team's player, "if there are other aggravating factors -- such as sustained public recruiting or evidence that the player making such a comment is coordinating with his team -- then there may be a basis for a tampering violation.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25632354/nba-sends-memo-teams-reminding-anti-tampering-rule?platform=amp

[csfansince60s]

If this is verifiable, Silver needs to come down on Brooklyn.  The NBA sent teams a letter this season about tampering:

In a memo obtained by ESPN on Friday morning, league counsel seemed to be alluding to James' scenario, saying, "employment contracts are to be respected and conduct that interferes with contractual employment relationships is prohibited.

"This principle is particularly important in today's media environment, where any actions or comments relating to potential player movement receive immediate and widespread public attention. Teams should be entitled to focus their efforts on the competition this season with the players they have under contract, without having to divert attention or resources to conduct or speculation regarding the potential destinations of those players in future seasons once their contracts expire."

If Dinwiddie’s actions came at the behest of Marks, that would seem to go directly against what the NBA spelled out in its letter:

While the NBA won't punish players for individual comments about interest of playing with another team's player, "if there are other aggravating factors -- such as sustained public recruiting or evidence that the player making such a comment is coordinating with his team -- then there may be a basis for a tampering violation.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25632354/nba-sends-memo-teams-reminding-anti-tampering-rule?platform=amp

TP, salt!

The highlighted language sounds pretty dispositive to me, legally, policy wise and Ethically.

 Also, is tortious interference of contract obviated because there is a collective bargaining agreement or can that be pursued?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I'm not sure why so many people are getting worked up about so-called tampering. I mean, in the social media age, and with players being buddies and whatnot, it seems like tampering is almost unavoidable. I get that there are rules, but isn't a player gonna sign where he wants to sign, regardless of what anyone says to him? It seems like trying to prove legitimate tampering these days is like trying to prove slander.

[Never Nervous Pervis]

Just a reminder that Isaiah Thomas started recruiting Al Horford when he was still on the Hawks.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2016/07/11/isaiah-thomas-started-recruiting-al-horford-celtics-star-weekend

[CelticSooner]

And hear we thought Kyrie would be the one recruiting AD to Boston. 

[saltlover]

Just a reminder that Isaiah Thomas started recruiting Al Horford when he was still on the Hawks.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2016/07/11/isaiah-thomas-started-recruiting-al-horford-celtics-star-weekend

Absolutely true.  The question is whether Dinwiddie did so with the coordination of his front office, especially in light of the NBA this season saying that sort of player communication would not be acceptable, especially during the regular season.

[mqtcelticsfan]

Meh. Tampering rules shouldn’t exist anyway.

[tazzmaniac]

Just a reminder that Isaiah Thomas started recruiting Al Horford when he was still on the Hawks.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2016/07/11/isaiah-thomas-started-recruiting-al-horford-celtics-star-weekend

Absolutely true.  The question is whether Dinwiddie did so with the coordination of his front office, especially in light of the NBA this season saying that sort of player communication would not be acceptable, especially during the regular season.

You're never going to be able to prove it unless someone in the Nets org stupidly confirms it. 

[saltlover]

Just a reminder that Isaiah Thomas started recruiting Al Horford when he was still on the Hawks.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2016/07/11/isaiah-thomas-started-recruiting-al-horford-celtics-star-weekend

Absolutely true.  The question is whether Dinwiddie did so with the coordination of his front office, especially in light of the NBA this season saying that sort of player communication would not be acceptable, especially during the regular season.

You're never going to be able to prove it unless someone in the Nets org stupidly confirms it.

Or they wrote it down somewhere.  Emails and texts can be compelled to be provided.  Someone leaked it enough to a reporter, at any rate.