NBA Investigating Knicks For Alleged Tampering After Signing Of Ex-Mavericks Guard Jalen Brunson

The NBA has opened a tampering investigation against the New York Knicks. The league is looking into whether the Knicks contacted former Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson before the start of the 2022 free agency period, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.

This summer, Brunson signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks rather than re-signing with the Mavericks. Needing a starting caliber point guard, New York was not quiet about its interest in Brunson, despite Dallas’ ability to offer him the most money.

In April, New York executives William Wesley and Allan Houston sat courtside with Knicks player Julius Randle, a Dallas-area native, for Game 1 of the Mavericks playoff series with the Utah Jazz in Dallas. Their presence did not go unnoticed.

Then in June, the Knicks hired Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, to be an assistant coach on head coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff. Brunson previously served on Thibodeau’s staff with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves.

All of this occurred before the official start of free agency: June 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

Dallas drafted Brunson with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He played four seasons with the Mavericks, helping the team advance to the Western Conference Finals in 2022.

The Mavericks made re-signing Brunson a top priority heading into the off-season. They even felt they had the upper hand because they could pay him more than any other team over five years. Other teams could only offer four-year contracts.

What Dallas offered, however, was not enough to sway Brunson from decamping for New York. The Mavericks reportedly offered him a five-year, $106 million deal to stay in Dallas—$4.8 million less annually than New York’s offer.

The Knicks were brash about its courtship of Brunson, which eventually paid off for the organization. So does it amount to tampering? That is what the NBA wants to know.