The New York Knicks worked incredibly hard to sign Jalen Brunson at the start of free agency.
For weeks before the signing was made official, it was obvious the team was doing whatever it could to get the former Dallas Mavericks guard.
In the end, they caught their big fish and Brunson is now officially a Knick.
But the work they did may end up costing them in the end.
Jalen Brunson Knicks Tampering Charge…
Jalen's dad is a Knicks coach
Jalen's agent's dad is the Knicks' president
It is easy to prove that Knicks employees spoke to Jalen AND his agent before Free Agency… but not sure you can punish someone for speaking to his dad
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) August 1, 2022
The NBA is now investigating possible tampering charges involving the Knicks’ pursuit of Brunson.
But Knicks Memes points out that while the team may have in fact talked with Brunson and his agent before they should have, it’ll be hard to punish the organization for Brunson speaking with his own dad.
This wasn’t the start the team wanted with Brunson but great things could still be ahead.
Bringing In Brunson
NBA rules state that teams aren’t allowed to make contact with an agent or player to discuss any deal prior to the official start of free agency.
But before that date, Brunson’s dad, Rick, was hired as a Knicks assistant coach and the team’s president, Leon Rose, is a former agent whose first client was Rick.
It just felt very obvious that the Knicks were doing a lot behind the scenes to get Brunson.
However, New York isn’t the only team accused of doing this: the league just opened a different investigation into the Philadelphia 76ers for possible tampering and early contact this offseason as well.
If the Knicks are found guilty of tampering, they could be fined an awful lot and lose future draft picks.
But they might not mind; if Brunson works out as they plan, it’ll all be worth it.
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