The NBA Board of Governors on Friday passed a stricter package of measures aimed to enforce compliance with tampering and salary cap circumvention.
Speaking in New York, commissioner Adam Silver said the provisions passed unanimously as the league seeks a “culture of compliance.”
“Suspending executives … taking away draft picks … voiding contracts … all those provisions are on the table,” Silver said a news conference. “The ultimate goal is compliance.”
The commissioner added that fining teams often can be the least effective avenue to rules compliance.
“There was a strong view of every single person in the room that we need to ensure that we’re creating a culture of compliance in this league,” Silver said at the conclusion of the two-day board meeting. “Our teams want to know that they’re competing on a level playing field and frankly don’t want to feel disadvantaged if they’re adhering to our existing rules.”
The measures were part of several changes approved by the board.
Among them was new language in the NBA rule book that governs traveling violations. The revision will not change the substance of the rule but will help eliminate the gap between the rule as written and how it has been applied in NBA games.
Also, teams now must submit starting lineups 30 minutes before tipoff, barring injury exceptions. The previous rule was 10 minutes.