NBA opens investigation into Knicks tampering in Jalen Brunson signing

This was expected.

It was no secret, Jalen Brunson reportedly decided to sign with the New York Knicks for four years, $104 million well before free agency opened. Now the NBA is investigating the Knicks for tampering — illegally contacting and recruiting  Brunson prior to the official signing period opening on June 30 — reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

The NBA has begun an investigation into the New York Knicks for alleged tampering regarding free agent pickup Jalen Brunson, sources inform @YahooSports.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 1, 2022

The NBA is also investigating the 76ers regarding James Harden opting out of his contract to sign for $14 million less next season, money GM Daryl Morey used to round out the Philly roster with players such as P.J. Tucker.

The Knicks and Brunson is a high-profile case with plenty of nuances to debate, although the core of the issue is this: Where does the NBA draw the line on tampering? There were 38 new contract signs and seven contract extensions agreed to on the first day of NBA free agency — approaching half of those in the first 90 minutes after the free agent window opened. Is the NBA suggesting none of those other teams contacted these free agents until free agency officially opened at 6 p.m. Eastern on June 30? Tampering is rampant in the NBA, although done through back channels to give teams plausible deniability. As said before in this space, the NBA needs to seriously crack down on tampering or stop pretending it will.

With Brunson in particular, the Mavericks are reportedly frustrated. However, Dallas shares in the responsibility for losing Brunson. It chose not to offer a fair contract extension to the guard early — wanting to keep his trade value in place