Bulls, Heat each landed in second round pick for early discussions with Lonzo Ball free agent Kyle Lowry

NS Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat both will be forced to forfeit their next available second round selection for violating the rules regarding early free agent discussions, NBA officially announced on Wednesday. Violations stemming from the signing of contracts between free agents Lonzo Ball (Bulls) and Kyle Lowry (Heat). The league opened an investigation in August to find out whether there was illegal contact (according to the CBA) between the Bulls and Ball and the Heat and Lowry. Free Agent opened at 6 p.m. ET on August 2, and teams were not allowed to make any prior contact with representatives on behalf of players. Final, NBA determined that both teams were in violation.

Here is the statement from the tournament:

The NBA announced today that the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat each violated league rules governing the timing of this season’s dealer free discussions, and the federation has directed that the draft round selection The next two available by each team will be forfeited. These decisions follow investigations into free agency discussions engaged by the Bulls over Lonzo Ball and by the Heat against Kyle Lowry.

Penalties for the two teams are lighter than they could be, as organizations can also potentially face operating suspensions, hefty fines, and loss of other options. Both teams “fully cooperated” in the investigations and that was taken into account when the penalty was determined, according to the statement. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The discipline appears to be consistent with recent previous punishments. During the 2020 season, Milwaukee Bucks was disenfranchised in the second round of 2022 after the federation discovered it had been in early discussions with Sacramento Kings Free agency is restricted Bogdan Bogdanovic.

After a months-long investigation, the teams were ready to move on.

“While we disagree, we accept the league’s decision. We are moving on with our season,” Heat said in a statement.

Bulls also release a statement It read: “The Chicago Bulls have fully cooperated with the federation in the investigation. We are pleased this process has ended and look forward to the remainder of our season.”