The New York Knicks will pay the price if they’ll be found guilty of tampering with regards to the Jalen Brunson signing.

Per The Athletic’s Fred Katz (h/t HoopsHype), there is a huge possibility that the league will hand down a harsher penalty should they find an “egregious” tampering in the part of the Knicks.

New York could lose a future first-round pick once league investigation and solid evidence conclude that the club indeed crossed the line in recruiting Brunson.

“Everyone assumes that the NBA’s go-to penalty for this is now just loss of a second-round pick, because that’s what happened in the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade. And that’s what happened in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade. And they just go ‘second-round pick’. And I know for sure that is not their blanket policy. That’s just what they decided in those moments and if they find evidence of tampering that they believe to be particularly egregious, they are down to go with a harsher penalty. But they have to find the evidence. It can’t just be like, ‘This is what we believed happened’. It has to be like evidence you can present in a courtroom and actually prove your point. … I think it could be a first-round pick… but I wasn’t explicitly told it could be a first.”

Earlier this week, the NBA has officially announced that they’ll open up an investigation in the alleged tampering case of the Knicks in Brunson.

Following his productive 2021-2022 season with the Dallas Mavericks, Brunson has decided to go to the east coast and ink a four-year, $104 million deal to don the Big Apple’s hoops team.

It has been documented since that the Knicks have their attention intact for Brunson from last season. Initially, the Mavs were poised to regain the former Villanova product, but as the days went nearer in the free agency opening, the Knicks went swinging and became the clear cut favorites to land him.

The interest of New York on the 25-year-old cager further created murmurs around the NBA circles, as the organization hired Rick Brunson, father of Jalen, in Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff.

It remains yet to be seen what will be the result of the case being pointed at for both Brunson and the Knicks. As such, if ever the authority imposes a much heftier punishment, it could change the narratives and prevailing tampering inside the association.