December 22, (THEWILL) – After looking into possible tampering with the signing of point guard Jalen Brunson, the NBA Wednesday stripped the New York Knicks of their 2025 second-round pick.
Following investigations into the Chicago Bulls’ and Miami Heat’s sign-and-trade deals for Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry, respectively, the NBA imposed similar sanctions last season, taking second-round picks away from each team.
The 26-year-old Brunson has averaged 20.8 points per game for New York, second only to Julius Randle, in the club this season. The Knicks have won eight straight games, the best active streak in the NBA, and are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference after a bumpy start to the 2022/2023 campaign.
Three potential instances of tampering were looked into by the NBA: the hiring of Jalen Brunson’s father, Rick as an assistant in June; the signing of Isaiah Hartenstein, who signed with the Knicks shortly after Jalen, who is represented by the same agency; and Jalen’s own signing.
Actually, the penalty has little effect on them. When a team is discovered to have tampered with the game, the league has historically taken away their next second-round pick. This time, it is the Knicks’ own second-round selection.
