The NBA announced today that New York Knicks scout Rodney Heard has been fined $20,000 for violating league rules restricting contact between NBA teams and players eligible for the NBA Draft. The Knicks’ organization has also been also fined $200,000 for Heard’s actions.
Heard violated NBA rules on two occasions, once in May 2007 and again in May 2010.
Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times reports:
The punishments stem from workouts conducted by Heard in Atlanta in May 2007 and May 2010.Heard, who has been with the club since 2006, is the Knicks’ East Coast scouting director. The punishment is generally in line with previous cases that involved violations of draft workout rules, although some team executives had expected the Knicks to be forced to forfeit future draft picks as part of any punishment.
The Knicks were perhaps lucky to only get fined and not suffer any additional penalties.