Tampering, the NBA's version of jaywalking

Admit it: you’ve jaywalked before. No cars were coming, no police in sight, so you walked across the street with your arms pumping, as if to signify that you’re trying to hurry — but your legs just wouldn’t let you. It’s illegal activity, but it’s never been a real issue.

So when Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the NBA is investigating the Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball sign-and-trades for potential tampering violations, we have to ask — is this worth the hassle and the paperwork?

Here’s a thought: Woj had the scoop on the Lowry deal a full day before free agency opened up. As Ryen Russillo said, the Lonzo Ball-to-Chicago buzz broke records for being the longest rumor in NBA history.

NBA teams talk — all… the… time.

So do NBA players! LeBron had Davis and Westbrook over to his house for some good ol’ almas caviar and kicked the can on what it would be like to play together. Two weeks later… you know what happened.

The players have control of the league now. Lonzo and Klutch wanted to be in Chicago. After years in the North, Kyle Lowry wanted to be in South Beach — and that’s evident in the Raptors’ return of Goran Dragić and Precious Achiuwa.

The NBA fined the Lakers $500,000 for talking to Paul George when he was under contract. Makes sense. They also fined Joe Dumars $500,000 for leaking memos to Woj, in exchange for talking up Detroit as a potential LeBron James destination. Very confusing — but also hilarious.

Chances are, the NBA will come down hard on the teams involved in the Lonzo and Lowry deals. But, for what? Trading players to the teams they were already connected to?

People jaywalk. NBA teams tamper. Everyone knows it’s illegal, but it never matters. If the NBA is going to make a fuss of jaywalking, they need to ask themselves: is this really worth the hassle and the paperwork?