The NBA issued the largest tampering fine in league history – $500,000 – on the Lakers for communicating with Paul George while he was under contract with the Pacers.
But short of stripping draft picks or prohibiting Los Angeles from signing George, every penalty was going to seem tolerable for the Lakers. Not even the maximum allowable fine – $5 million, per the NBA’s constitution – would have shocked the system.
Did the Pacers – who requested the NBA’s investigation and since traded George to the Thunder for a paltry return – approve of the penalty? Pacers owner Herb Simon was considering suing the NBA and Lakers, according to Peter Vecsey.
Pacers:
Statement from #Pacers’ Owner Herb Simon: https://t.co/Qy78vUZPnF pic.twitter.com/B0svs6reSW
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) September 6, 2017
It’s a little odd the Pacers responded so strongly to an isolated report from a rumormonger. I certainly don’t mind them setting the record straight, but most teams would just let an erroneous report like that pass by.
I wonder whether the Pacers regret initiating the investigation. Everyone tampers, and now the Pacers will be under the microscope. They might be the one team that can’t tamper for a bit. This statement could be an attempt to remove the counterproductive badge of being the team that broke ranks to complain about tampering.