NBA investigating Lakers amid tampering allegation

The NBA is investigating whether the Lakers tampered with All-Star forward Paul George while he was under contract with Indiana.

The Pacers asked the league to open the probe.

“The Lakers have been cooperative and, at this point, no findings have been made,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Sunday in a statement. “We have asked both teams to refrain from commenting while the investigation is ongoing.”

There is no known timetable for the completion of the investigation being conducted by the New York law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

George is a four-time AllStar and Los Angeles native who was traded to Oklahoma City this offseason. The Pacers traded him after George told them he planned to leave Indiana as a free agent next summer.

There has been speculation for some time that George has wanted to join the Lakers. Under NBA rules, teams are not permitted to attempt to sway any player who is under contract with another team.

If the Lakers are found to have tampered, the NBA could issue any combination of fines, forfeiture of draft picks or suspensions of those who were deemed to be involved. Bucks describe injury: Responding to Greece’s basketball federation’s accusation that the Bucks and NBA colluded to prevent Giannis Antetokounmpo from playing in the European championship, Milwaukee said the swingman was training briefly with the Greek national team when he reported to his NBA team that he was experiencing knee pain.

The Bucks agreed with their medical staff ’s recommendation for Antetokounmpo not to play, general manager Jon Horst said. Antetokounmpo reported to the Bucks that he was having right anterior knee pain following certain movements. Antetokounmpo is scheduled to return to Milwaukee this week to begin daily treatment and rehab.