As punishment for "improper contact" with Thunder F Paul George while he was with the Pacers, the NBA on Thursday fined the Lakers $500,000, marking the "largest fine it has ever assessed for tampering," according to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. TIMES. The penalty "stems from a conversation" between Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and George’s agent, Aaron Mintz. The independent firm the league hired to investigate the charges "found that Pelinka offered a 'prohibited expression of interest' to Mintz." The fine "could have been" up to $5M. The league also had the "power to stop the Lakers from being able to sign George in free agency, had they deemed the transgressions egregious enough" (L.A. TIMES, 9/1). ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin noted the fine came after the league "warned the Lakers" about President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson's appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in April during which he "joked that he planned to deliver a sort of come-play-for-us, wink-wink" to George should he run into him in L.A. in the summer. The finding comes off a like a "state trooper pulling over a single car for speeding when the flow of traffic is all pushing 80, or the NCAA targeting a specific program for a probe while infractions run rampant among all its competitors in the conference in which it plays" (ESPN.com, 8/31). In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes "everybody tampers," but that the Lakers were "careless enough to actually get convicted." It runs "completely contrary to the smart and savvy culture" that team President Jeanie Buss is "trying to rebuild." Plaschke: "What is beyond argument is that the Lakers got caught doing something unnecessary, untimely, and just dumb" (L.A. TIMES, 9/1)
SLAP ON THE WRIST: In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel writes under the header, "A $500K Fine? The NBA Told Lakers It Was OK To Tamper With Paul George." The Lakers "screwed the Pacers," and for good measure, the NBA just "screwed 'em too." The league has just "told every franchise in the league that it’s open season on players of other teams." Doyel: "Tamper all you want, teams, especially you in large markets." The NBA just "winked at the Lakers" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 9/1).
