The Atlanta Hawks might have tampered with upcoming free agents Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. By specifically naming both players in a letter to ticket buyers, the Hawks could have violated the NBA's tampering policy, ESPN reports.
Hawks president Bob Williams called the mentioning of the soon-to-be free agents in the sales letter an "unfortunate" mistake. The letter told fans that the Hawks intend to go after the free agents this summer and that player interest in signing with the Hawks is "skyrocketing."
"The buzz around our offseason is more than heating up," the letter said, according to ESPN. "With massive cap space, 4 draft picks, and free agency rapidly approaching, we sit in the best position in the NBA. Player interest is skyrocketing as the possibilities of landing Chris Paul & Dwight Howard become more and more of a reality.
"This is your opportunity to get on board before its [sic] too late. Once we solidify our signings there will be no seats left."
The issue is that teams are prohibited from making any comments about free agents until July 1, the official start of free agency. Anything before then is considered tampering since free agents are technically under contract with their current team until the deadline.
The NBA office hasn't confirmed whether Atlanta violated the league anti-tampering policy.
Atlanta does have the salary cap room to sign both Howard and Paul, but it's uncertain the level of interest, if any, the All-Star players have in the Hawks. Howard is an Atlanta native, but the latest rumors have him reportedly interested in the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.
