Every offseason in the NBA, players get together before training camp for informal workouts to try and accelerate their bond and be on the same page when it comes time for actual camp to begin. It’s a time-honored tradition, but it is technically illegal for the team to be involved in the planning or running of those workouts.
As such, these workouts are always framed as player organized — examples include LeBron James’ yearly pre-camp workouts for the Lakers in Las Vegas or Terry Rozier hosting the Hornets at his home in Miami this offseason — but rest assured, there is almost always a team presence there, it’s just never advertised. The Minnesota Timberwolves forgot about that last part this summer, as they hosted workouts at new owner Alex Rodriguez’s home in Miami and had the entire staff on hand, posting photos on social media of the pre-camp work.
On Monday, the league announced the organization was being fined $250,000 for flaunting the rules about offseason workouts so flagrantly, a reminder to other teams to keep their actions covert.
The following has been announced by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/lnEYBLREib
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 15, 2021
Teams are usually more careful than this — once while working for the Hawks website I had an entire question cut from a Q&A with Elton Brand because he referenced coaches running summer workouts and it could’ve gotten the team a similar fine — but the Wolves have learned the hard way that while everyone breaks these rules, the point is not to do so publicly.