Report: NBA Will Investigate Possible Tampering Violations in Kyle Lowry Sign-and-Trade

The Toronto Raptors sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat for Kyle Lowry will be investigated by the NBA for possible tampering violations

The NBA is once again looking to expose the league's worst-kept secret.

According to reporting from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, the league has opened an investigation into possible tampering violations in the Miami Heat's sign-and-trade with the Toronto Raptors for Kyle Lowry. The league will also investigate the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bull's sign-and-trade for Lonzo Ball.

NBA teams were not permitted to begin discussing contracts with players until 6 p.m. ET on August 2. Once the clock struck 6 p.m., somehow all kinds of negotiations were miraculously completed in a matter of minutes. The Ball deal was first reported at 6:00 p.m. ET by Shams Charania, literally seconds into the league's legal tampering period.

Weird...

While the Lowry deal took some time to work out, the details of the deal were reported prior to 6 p.m. on August 2 and other teams including the Dallas Mavericks and Pelicans had already begun moving onto their backup plans having concluded Lowry was destined for Miami.

Last year, the NBA stripped the Milwaukee Bucks of a second-round pick for tampering violations in their attempt to lure Bogdan Bogdanovic away from the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade that eventually fell apart. The Kings, however, who eventually lost Bogdanovic to the Atlanta Hawks were not punished.

Further Reading

The Raptors have begun trying to restock the cupboards after the 2019 championship run

Khem Birch wanted to return to Toronto 'regardless' of price or years

Kyle Lowry may be gone, but Fred VanVleet has a lifetime of leadership experience ready to take over the Raptors