Rockets Fined $150,000 for Publicly Talking About Dwight Howard Agreement Too Soon

It's a fine the Houston Rockets will happily pay.

The NBA on Tuesday fined the franchise $150,000 for talking about Dwight Howard during the free agency moratorium period. ESPN.com was the first media outlet to report the story.

After Howard made his decision public that he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers after one year to sign with the Rockets, Houston general manager Daryl Morey went on Twitter and on a local television station in Houston and discussed Howard's move to the Rockets, two sources told USA Today.

While teams can negotiate and reach agreements with free agents after July 1, they are not allowed to talk publicly about free agents during the moratorium, which lasted from July 1-10 this summer.

So while Howard, the media, and the rest of the world can talk about Howard's change of address, the Houston Rockets organization can't say anything until they officially sign him on Wednesday.

According to USA Today, Morey made at least five tweets about Howard's decision after his announcement on July 5. Morey then went on Comcast Sportnet Houston to go into details about the luring of Howard to the Rockets.

The Rockets have been fined in back-to-back months for similar matters, USA Today reported. In June, the club was fined for tampering after a story on Houston's official team website discussed players who were still under contract with other teams but were expected to be free agents in July.

The team posted an analysis of 75 free agents on its website.

That is also against NBA policy.

According to FanSided.com, the amount of the fine for tampering exceeded the previous record of $100,000 levied against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.