Vol. 1 No. 5 — September 25th, 2019

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Rathbun Roundball Report, Subscriber First Name! This newsletter is dedicated to the basketball community, and that I hope it sheds a light on what’s going on in the world of basketball this week!

See a story that you think might be of interest? Send me the link! Have a question? Send it in, and I will try my best to make sure it gets answered in next week’s issue.

You can reach me at bob@bobrathbun.com

Thank you for subscribing and let’s get to this week’s stories.

Whistle-blowing

The term “whistle-blower” has been in the news a lot lately, and that extends to the NBA.

Last week, at the league’s annual Board of Governors meeting, commissioner Adam Silver outlined new penalties for teams that “tamper” with eligible free agents, even if that player wouldn’t become a free agent for two or more seasons down the road.

And the fines could go as high as $10 million. A steep price to pay for the lack integrity.

“We need to ensure that we’re creating a culture of compliance in this league,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said after two days of meetings concluded in New York. “Our teams want to know that they’re competing on a level playing field and frankly don’t want to feel disadvantaged if they are adhering to our existing rules.”

Source: AP

The league came under fire last summer when clubs clearly violated the tampering rules when, just minutes after free agency opened, deals were reported having been closed.

So, the NBA took action.

“There need to be consequences when rules are violated,” Silver said.

The league told teams last week that fines would be raised in part to reflect the 600% increase in league revenue and the 1,100% increase in franchise value since the maximum-fine ceilings were last touched in 1996.

There are some elements of the new measures that still need to be worked out — specifically, the specifics behind the league’s new mandate that five teams will be randomly selected for investigatory audits to see if there were any rule-compliance issues. The NBA wants teams to keep records of talks with players and agents for a year, and the league has the power to review a team’s electronic communications devices.

The privacy concerns, however, remain a sticking point, Silver said.

“None of us want people looking into their personal communications,” Silver said. “But I think people who operate in a public company environment or operate in a financial world who are used to compliance procedures understand that you have to find a balance between disclosure and privacy so you can ensure that people will understand that there will be consequences for inappropriate behavior.”

The chances of an NBA executive handing over his or her cell phone are slim and none. And Slim left town.

We are revisiting the age-old question—how do you legislate morality?

The game of basketball in this country is replete with cheating scandals, from shaving points, to referees behavior, to college teams and individuals buying players, etc.

The cynic might say, ‘What is a $10 million dollar fine to a multi-billionaire like Steve Ballmer or Mark Cuban. $10 million for a franchise that is valued anywhere from 1.5 to 3 billion dollars or more?”

A legitimate concern.

Why would they cheat? The reason anyone cheats in basketball, at any level,  is because it’s the one sport where one player can make a huge difference. And there aren’t that many great players to go around.

We will see if the new tampering rules make a difference.

It is an important topic. If all 30 teams can not have a fair shot to make a pitch, why have a league? If the best players migrate together to four or five different franchises, what hope is there for the other 25?

New York, New York

Today, the NBA broadcast family is wrapping up two days of meetings in Jersey City, NJ in preparation for the new season. More on what was discussed next week.

If you missed last week’s report! Don’t fret! All of our publications are archived at bobrathbun.com!

Just load the site on your favorite browser and click the link at the top of the homepage labeled “ROUNDBALL ARCHIVE” enter the password: roundballer2019

Every week’s edition will be archived for your convenience. If you have any trouble accessing the database, please contact bob@bobrathbun.com for support.