The rules on tampering are actually in Article 35A (e) and (f) of the NBA Constitution but also appear in Exhibit A of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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Since tampering is commonly misunderstood and misapplied, it is worthwhile to include the actual text from the NBA Constitution.

Article 35A (e): Any Player who, directly or indirectly, entices, induces, persuades or attempts to entice, induce, or persuade any Player, Coach, Trainer, General Manager or any other person who is under contract to any other Member of the Association to enter into negotiations for or relating to his services or negotiates or contracts for such services shall, on being charged with such tampering, be given an opportunity to answer such charges after due notice and the Commissioner shall have the power to decide whether or not the charges have been sustained; in the event his decision is that the charges have been sustained, then the Commissioner shall have the power to suspend such Player for a definite or indefinite period, or to impose a fine not exceeding $50,000, or inflict both such suspension and fine upon any such Player.

Article 35A (f): No person may, directly or indirectly, (i) entice, induce, persuade, or attempt to entice, induce or persuade, any Player who is under contract to, or whose exclusive negotiating rights are held by, any other Member of the Association to enter into negotiations for or relating to his services or negotiate or contract for such services or (ii) otherwise interfere with any such employer-employee relationship (or prospective employer-employee relationship in the case of a Player subject to exclusive negotiating rights) of any other Member of the Association. The Commissioner, either in his discretion or at the request of a Member who alleges that its Player has been tampered with, shall conduct an investigation into whether a person has violated 49 the anti-tampering rule set forth in the prior sentence. In the event that, following such investigation and a hearing at which the person (and the Member employing the person allegedly tampered with) has an opportunity to be heard after due notice, the Commissioner determines that the anti-tampering rule has been violated, he shall have the power, in his sole discretion, to impose a penalty for such offense, which penalty may include (without limitation) the suspension of such person for a definite or indefinite period; the prohibition of the Member employing or otherwise affiliated with the offending person from hiring the Player tampered with for a definite or indefinite period; the forfeiture of Draft picks held by the Member employing or otherwise affiliated with the offending person or the transfer of such Draft picks to the aggrieved Member; and/or the imposition of a fine upon the offending person and/or the Member employing or otherwise affiliated with such offending person in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000. In the event that the Commissioner imposes a fine, he may direct that some or all of the fine be paid directly to the Member aggrieved by the tampering. 

How does tampering work?

Tampering can take many forms both publicly and privately. It is believed that the most egregious forms of tampering are never discovered and are in a gray area of league rules, making it difficult to interpret let alone punish.

Prohibited Tampering:

- Public comments made by a member of front office or coaching staff about a player on another team.

- References to signing a player from another team in promotional materials such as ticket sales.

- A team employee (other than a player) making contact with a player from another team (or a representative of the player) about joining their team.

Penalties:

- The NBA fined the Hawks, Rockets and Kings in 2013 for tampering. The Hawks referenced the possibility of signing Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to prospective season ticket holders, the Rockets published an offseason preview with scouting reports and no mention of the team signing any of the free agents and Michael Malone spoke about reuniting with Chris Paul when introduced as head coach of the Kings.

- The Raptors were fined when Drake asked the crowd at a Toronto concert in 2014 to show Kevin Durant, who was in attendance, what it would be like to play in that city. Drake was a “global ambassador” for the Raptors at the time.

- The league fined Phil Jackson $25,000 in 2014 when he spoke about the Knicks’ interest in hiring Derek Fisher as head coach while Fisher was still under a Uniform Player Contract with the Thunder. Fisher was still hired by the Knicks a few days later.

- Mark Cuban was fined in 2015 for speaking publicly about agreements the Mavericks had made with Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan during the moratorium. Cuban was also fined in 2010 for comments about LeBron James, as was Steve Kerr when he was GM of the Suns.

Cuban has also called for the NBA to issue stricter restrictions on tampering.

Examples of Permitted Tampering:

- Players on different teams are permitted to speak with each other about playing on the same team. This is allowed as long as the dialogue is not directed by a team employee such as an owner or general manager. 

For example, when LeBron James signed with the Heat in 2010, he was believed to be in contact with several other members of the free agent class, not limited to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Similarly, Draymond Green recruited Kevin Durant on multiple occasions before July 1st, 2016.

- Agents are allowed to be in touch with teams leading up to July 1st but there is very little they can explicitly discuss. It is believed this is the area where tampering rules are most frequently bent. An unnamed agent suggested Mitch Kupchak was the only general manager in the NBA who abides by the rules and does not engage before July 1st.

When LeBron James became a free agent again in 2014, Rich Paul avoided speaking to any teams until after July 1st altogether, which was a measure few agents have ever used and was likely a response to the sensitivity of how the 2010 situation was perceived. 

How does the league look into tampering?

- The NBA will typically wait for teams to file a complaint before launching an investigation, though they will intervene in obvious cases where comments were made publicly.

- The Cavaliers retained a law firm to investigate the possibility of tampering by the Heat with LeBron leading to his free agency in 2010. There firm investigated an alleged meeting between James and Pat Riley in November of 2009. No evidence was ever presented publicly and the Heat were not issued a punishment by the NBA.

- The Magic considered filing a tampering complaint in 2011 against the Nets and Rockets due to their contact with Dwight Howard.

- There were allegations of potential tampering when Baron Davis opted out of the final year of his contract with the Warriors worth $17.8 and quickly signed a five-year, $65 million deal with the Clippers.