Don't start looking for subtext that isn't there.
But really, other than the Washington Capitals' Russian hotel party, we haven't seen the kind of brazen ignoring of rules in any of the other active sports leagues that the NBA seems to be going through every week. I think there is something to it being a players' league where they pretty much have all the power over their coaches and GMs because it's such an individually-driven league.
In the NFL they can up and cut you with no pay in a minute like Cam Newton, so people are more careful. But like, Marcus Smart can do whatever he wants and Stevens isn't going to cut him. If they get really fed up maybe they trade someone (like when Harden forced his way out last year by going to strip clubs). But GMs don't have the luxury to just dump someone for misbehavior.