The Miami Heat and their verified Twitter account responded to being reprimanded by the NBA recently, after punishments were handed down following tampering violations between the Heat and Chicago Bulls, this offseason. Reportedly, during their process in bringing in Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, the Heat were punished for their actions of potential foul play. On Twitter, the Heat issued their response, simply saying:
“While we disagree, we accept the league’s decision. We are moving on with our season.”
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According to their tone on Twitter, the Heat do not seem to be losing much sleep over loss of a second round pick in compliance with the NBA’s punishment. Also, the punishment itself isn’t necessarily as severe as one would imagine for an accusation like this, likely to the relief of Heat fans who have enjoyed Lowry’s services to this point this season, anyways.
Through the Miami Heat’s first 21 games this year, Lowry is currently averaging 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.2 steals a game in his first season in South Beach. The 13-8 Heat currently sit in third place atop the Eastern Conference, with Lowry and their leading scorer Jimmy Butler, who is averaging 23.6 points per game.
The NBA surely knows most teams walk a ‘thin line’ when it comes to abiding by the league’s tampering regulations, and even with this recent example of the Heat and their response on Twitter, it doesn’t appear as if anything will drastically change anytime soon.