The Indiana Pacers have filed tampering charges against the Los Angeles Lakers with the NBA after Paul George informed the Pacers earlier this offseason he would be opting out of his contract next year and was planning to sign a free agent deal with the Lakers.
The NBA’s regulation on tampering states that to play for the team, no player, coach or management personnel can entice a player under contract with another team. Until July 1 of the players’ free agency year, team officials cannot make contact with players or agents.
The independent law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz will be leading the investigation, which began around the time of the NBA draft in June. If evidence of tampering is found, there could be serious repercussions for the Lakers.
The investigation seems to be centered around comments team president of basketball operations Magic Johnson made while on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” show on Apr. 21, 2017. Kimmel brought up tampering during the interview, and posed a scenario where Johnson and George might meet in public.
“We’re going to say ‘hi’ because we know each other,” Johnson said. “You just can’t say ‘Hey, I want you to come to the Lakers,’ even though I’m going to be wink-winking.” Johnson then added an exaggerated wink and said, “You know what that means, right?”
The NBA can punish the Lakers in different ways if they find evidence, including fines, loss of draft picks, restrictions on acquiring Paul George in the future and possible suspensions of offending officials.
The Lakers deny all allegations filed by the Pacers and claim there is no evidence of tampering. They expect to be cleared on the charges, according to ESPN.
“As the NBA’s statement made clear, we cannot comment about the specifics of any ongoing investigation,” said the Lakers in a statement. “We can confirm, however, that we are cooperating fully with the NBA in the hope of clearing our name as soon as possible.”
George told the Pacers he planned on opting out of his contract in 2018 and planned to sign with the Lakers in June. The Pacers then put him on the trade block and he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis on June 30 as part of a deal finalized on June 6.
George has publicly stated in the past that he has a desire to play for the Lakers. He grew up in Los Angeles a Lakers fan. He is potentially eligible to sign a free agent deal worth about $130 million over four years in 2018.
Paul Helmers
Reporter