T-Wolves get caught on 'wink' deal for J. Smith, hope Rox aren't next in line

ouch, double whammy. Posting the same topic as the head of the Serious Police.

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The Serious Police are watching.
Follow the rules or be assimilated.
Shandon is underrated.

 

So is this why Popeye got in trouble with the Cuttino Mobley signing thing?

 

Below is the article from NBATalk.com.....hope we aren't next on the David Stern's list in the crackdown considering we are the kings of this practice (Barkley, Anderson, Taylor). Hopefully CD's feeding any documents into the papershredder right now. However, the article goes on to say that even verbal agreements may be investigated.

T-Wolves Get Impounded According to Minneapolis Star Tribune the T-Wolves have violated the salary cap. Apparently the NBA discovered a document promising Joe Smith big bucks after this year. In a hastily scheduled meeting Friday with NBA Commissioner David Stern, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor admitted to signing a secret agreement with forward Joe Smith in violation of the league's salary cap rules. 'The agreement, which is set forth in writing, calls for future payments to Smith of tens of millions of dollars, and was deliberately hidden from the league,'' said Joel Litvin, the NBA's executive vice president of legal and business affairs.'This is the most serious salary cap offense that can be committed by teams, players, or agents, and subjects the guilty parties to substantial penalties under the CBA, in addition to other potential liabilities.'' 'What I was trying to do was keep a player on the same team, in a small market, over a period of time and play him a competitive wage,' Taylor said. 'I thought that was what the spirit of the collective bargaining agreement. ... He [Stern] said he disagrees with that. They haven't told me that they're going to do anything. I told them, if anyone did anything wrong, it was me. But I thought it was a righteous thing. My intent was to help the team and to resurrect Joe's career here and keep him here.' Timberwolves Rant

Our CBA guru Larry Coon expounds on the deep do-do that the Timberwolves stepped in. According to the CBA, Minnesota may be on the hook for:
1) A $3.5 million fine.
2) Forfeiture of future draft picks
3) Player contract being voided
4) Suspension of team personnel involved.
Larry also notes that the CBA doesn't even allow the innuendo of these wink-wink deals. Written proof is not needed to violate this rule. Simply implying such an arangement is enough for conviction. But the NBA already has the tangible evidence. Naughty, naughty.
For more information on the CBA, the absolute best souce available to fans remains Larry Coon's Collective Bargaining Agreement FAQ.



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I am pretty sure the Rockets wink-wink deals weren't as specific as this. It was more like "Take less now, we'll compensate you later, trust us."

There were probably no documents saying exactly what each player would be payed or numbers even negotiated.

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