Plenty of big stars were at Drake’s OVO Fest including NBA superstar Kevin Durant. During the concert Drake used the opportunity to “recruit” Durant to the Toronto Raptors saying:
“You know, my brother [Oklahoma City Thunder star] Kevin Durant was kind enough to come to the show tonight and watch us,” Drake said. “I just want him to see what would happen if he came to play in Toronto. Let him know what would happen.”
The problem with the seemingly harmless gesture is that Drake is the Global Brand Ambassador for the Toronto Raptors and since Durant will not be a free agent until 2016, Drake’s recruitment is considered tampering under the league’s rules. The result was a $25,000 fine levied against the Raptors but according to this source, the NBA was willing to drop the fine if the Raptors dropped Drake.
[Raptors officials] refused to address a key detail – that the NBA offered to drop the tampering fine if the team agreed to strip Drake of his title. The Raptors apparently refused.
$25K is clearly a drop in the bucket compared to what Drake’s affiliation with the Raptors is worth. The league wanting the Raptors to drop Drake doesn’t make sense to me considering they’re all about raising the profit margins and Drake certainly brings in more revenue and notoriety to the Raptors. In the story however it discusses another issue, conspiracy theories surrounding the NBA’s tampering rules and their posturing.
You can read more in Cathal Kelly’s column.
– Shaina Auxilly (@Shay_Marie)
