Can someone please explain to me how the NBA tolerates a plan where a player gets traded, doesn’t need to report and yet the trade STILL happens?

I think the most irritating case is the most recent trade where Gary Payton got traded for Antoine Walker and….Gary Payton??? Yup. Find it here. It just pisses me off. Why bother having rules if there is no penalty for breaking them so aggregiously? We won’t even get into my feelings on the Knicks being more than 200% over the salary cap and still taking on MORE salary with little consequence.