The Knicks made a big move this offseason in signing Jalen Brunson in free agency, but the way they did it is now being looked into.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the NBA has begun an investigation into the Knicks for alleged tampering. Specifically, the NBA will be looking into whether New York made contact with Brunson before the free agency period started, Haynes reports.
The No. 33 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Brunson spent the first four seasons of his career in Dallas. He had a breakout season in 2021-22, setting him up to be one of the best players in this offseason's free agent class. Initial reporting indicated that he was likely to return to Dallas, but Brunson ended up signing a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks.
What does the investigation mean for Brunson and the Knicks? Let's take a closer look.
MORE: Jalen Brunson contract with Knicks poses $104 million question
What is tampering?
ESPN's Bobby Marks explained tampering as so: "Under NBA tampering rules, no player, coach or management person may entice or induce a player under contract with another team to play for his team."
This offseason's free agency period began at 6 p.m. ET on June 30. Teams weren't allowed to make contact with a player or their agent before that time and date.
MORE: NBA investigating 76ers for possible tampering
Why are the Knicks being investigated for tampering with Jalen Brunson?
There were some early signs that the Knicks planned to pursue Brunson in free agency.
To name a couple: New York recently hired Rick Brunson, the father of Jalen, as an assistant coach and Knicks executive William Wesley was seen sitting courtside at a playoff game between the Mavericks and Jazz, which saw Brunson and Donovan Mitchell, who has also been linked to the franchise, go head-to-head.
MORE: Why haven't the Jazz traded Donovan Mitchell to the Knicks?
To help clear the cap space needed to pursue Brunson in free agency, the Knicks traded Kemba Walker and the rights to Jalen Duren to the Pistons for a future first-round pick around the 2022 NBA Draft.
As NBA insider Marc Stein detailed on June 24, that was the start of the Knicks being viewed as a "very credible threat" to sign Brunson.
Sources say that New York's ability during Thursday night's NBA Draft to offload Kemba Walker's $9.2 million salary for next season, coupled with a growing belief that it can shed further salary to expand its offer when the marketplace officially opens next Thursday, has established the Knicks as a very credible threat to bring Brunson to Gotham.
One source close to the process described that threat as “very, very, very real.”
A few days later on June 28, ESPN's Tim MacMahon broke the news that it was "widely anticipated" Brunson would go to the Knicks on "a four-year deal in excess of $100M."
Ahead of free agency, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that Brunson planned to meet with the Knicks, Mavericks and Heat, but Brunson's meeting with Miami was later revealed as being off and Dallas was said to have never received a chance to make an offer to Brunson.
Does that mean the Knicks made contact before Brunson before they were allowed to? That's what the NBA is reportedly looking into.
Would tampering punishment impact potential Donovan Mitchell trade?
The Knicks are believed to be the front-runner to land Mitchell if the Jazz decide to trade the three-time All-Star.
Not only is Mitchell a native of New York, but the Knicks have the means to put together a package similar to the one the Jazz received from the Timberwolves for Rudy Gobert — young players, expiring contracts and multiple draft picks.
How could this investigation impact a potential Mitchell trade? As ESPN explains, if the Knicks are found to have tampered, they are at risk of losing draft picks.
The NBA instituted more stringent anti-tampering penalties in 2019, including raising the maximum fine for teams to $10 million and adding the possibility of suspending team executives, forfeiting draft picks and even voiding contracts. The possibility of the contracts becoming voided is seen as a virtually nonexistent threat.
For what it's worth, the Bulls and Heat were each docked a second-round pick when they were found to have tampered with Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry, respectively, in 2021 free agency. The Bucks earned the same punishment when they were found to have had "early discussions" with Bogdan Bogdanovic and/or his agent in 2020.
Losing a second-round pick probably wouldn't hurt New York's odds of landing Mitchell much, but losing a first-round pick would be more costly.
The Athletic's Fred Katz explains:
It’s important to remember: What the league believes occurred in the Knicks’ recruitment of Brunson is irrelevant. It can penalize only based on the evidence it finds in an investigation, which means it’s impossible at the moment to calculate the likelihood of this ending with the Knicks losing a first-rounder. But it’s also not completely off the table.
It’s plausible an extra first could be essential currency for the Knicks’ future. But we’re still far from knowing the NBA’s findings and how the league might react to them. For now, the Knicks have four of their first-round picks they can trade. And if they complete a Mitchell deal while holding onto two of them, they can make noise again in a couple of seasons.
In other words, stay tuned.
