Execs reportedly concerned about NBA auditing their communications

The NBA is considering measures to try cracking down on tampering, and one such change is causing concerns among league executives, according to a report.

Among the league’s measures being considered to combat tampering include: an increase in fines for tampering, allowing the commissioner to take draft picks away from teams as punishment, and the ability of the league to audit the communications of five teams per season. It’s the last part that apparently has executives concerned, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported on Thursday.

“I don’t think [Adam Silver] should have any right to get into my phone,” one GM told ESPN. “I wish my owner would vote no, but I doubt he will. You’ll only make yourself a target for investigation if you do.”

A proposal would include teams being forced to save communications with agents for a year, likely so the league could investigate if needed. To combat this, some teams are apparently considering using less traceable means of communications than emails and text messages, such as phone calls, face-to-face conversations, and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegraph.

Though teams and owners are concerned about tampering as a problem, NBA commissioner Adam Silver apparently does not want to create a police state and prefers to have teams abiding by the rules themselves. That’s a lot easier said than done.

If he ever wants to get a message across to prove his point, the biggest deterrent would be stripping teams of draft picks. Would Silver do that if the occasion called for it?