There were some complaints around the league regarding the circumstances that led to the Sixers’ trade for James Harden, but the team isn’t under investigation for tampering, writes Joe Varden of The Athletic.
Some executives in rival front offices considered asking for tampering charges based on suspicions that Philadelphia was talking to Harden about signing in the offseason if a trade with the Nets couldn’t be completed, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported recently. Harden has a close relationship with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and chief executive officer Tad Brown from his time in Houston, and he’s a friend of co-owner Michael Rubin.
[RELATED: Sixers/Harden Chatter Raises Tampering Suspicions]
NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the situation tonight during his annual All-Star Weekend press conference and confirmed that no investigation is being conducted.
“It’s no secret that I’ve expressed my unhappiness with public trade demands,” Silver said. “I think you’re dealing with a situation where you have players with literally a unique skill on the planet, and that’s always going to give them leverage. And you have teams with leverage. … I mean there may be tools that we can think of to create stronger incentives for players to comply with those agreements, but there’s no silver bullet here, that we’re going to go in and collectively bargain and say, ‘now we fix this problem.’”
Silver touched on numerous other topics during the media session:
- He continues to express optimism about an in-season tournament, saying the play-in tourney has helped build momentum for change, Varden adds. “In some ways, the players have been more receptive to the possibility of an in-season tournament because the play-in has been a bit more successful,” Silver said.
- Silver expressed concern about the situation involving Rockets guard John Wall, saying, “Of course I think it’s a problem when players are paid not to play,” tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wall hasn’t played at all this season under a mutual agreement with the rebuilding team.
- With COVID-19 regulations easing around the country, Silver hopes a resolution can be reached involving the New York City vaccine mandate that has prevented Nets guard Kyrie Irving from playing in home games, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
- Silver confirmed that the investigation into the Suns organization and owner Robert Sarver is still ongoing, but didn’t offer any updates, according to Bontemps (Twitter link).
- Silver said no regular-season games will be played in Europe next year, but some teams may travel there during the preseason, Bontemps adds (via Twitter).
- The halftime ceremony for Sunday’s All-Star Game will honor the 75th anniversary team, and Silver expects about 50 of the 61 living members to be on hand, tweets Marc Stein of Substack.
Tampering is a garbage charge. Everyone does it in some fashion. It’s not like the Lakers GM LeBron doesn’t talk to players before they swing trades.
Some fashions are legal due to things like the US Constitution, and self-restrictions favored by the franchises.
Rules don’t apply to LeBron
“There’s no silver bullet”
– Guy with the gun made of silver
His lack of action or accountability make me sick. Do something Silver or you’re fired!
Because no reason they should be. They didn’t do anything wrong. Clearly Harden wanted out and Nets(made the trade)
Right, I guess I can trust your completely unbiased opinion (lol)
Ok so give me one thing that was different from Harden trade from Houston to the nets that was different from his trade from nets to sixers. Go ahead I will wait
Sixers dying with Harden …..
The playoff failure …….
link to reddit.com
KnickerbockerAl spends his days commenting on different ways to hate the Sixers. = Fear and Jealously
I could care less about Sixers. I’ve never liked Harden. Seems to me most you who claim to be Sixer fans. Don’t really know Harden. You should read that address I left you. Try informing yourself it only helps. I’m not a hater. I produce facts and real analysis.
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“ Harden’s last 4 playoffs (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) have ended by him breaking the playoffs single game turnover record with 13 turnovers, getting blown out by 33 points by a team missing their best player due to injury, getting blown out at home by 39 points by a team missing their best player due to injury in addition to missing their starting point guard. Harden was also extremely inefficient in the Blazers series in 2014.“
That’s just part of it. Read it
But he didn’t have a Joel Embiid in none of those series.Im sure if you go through Chris Paul’s playoff experiences before last years,there would be some let down there too.
Different teams,Different situations.
Who objects to the Hardin-Simmons trade in principle? It solved the Simmons problem which was festering. The Nets did not lose any name commodities overall… even gained some smaller names.
I agree in principle.
But *if* we believe that Morey is basically wooing Harden in season, during a Brooklyn losing streak, giving him terms and assurances to where Beard feels confident requesting a trade…. that’s kind of a problem, optics wise at least
But again this is nothing new. Kawhi called PG13 and told him to request a trade to LA—right after PG signed an extension.
There actually is a silver bullet (a league that requires contract compliance), but it’s been clear for a long time that Silver won’t fire it. It’s so clear, that the best course of action would be to completely eliminate tampering rules. Right now they are either unenforced, technically enforced, but only nominally punished, or construed (loosely) as restricting only certain actions, and not other actions that are substantively the same. Such rules can’t serve any legitimate purpose. Even Silver’s stated goal of “go ahead and tamper, please, just don’t let anyone know about it so it goes public and shows us up” isn’t served by them.
They’re not Silver’s rules.
Some ownership group or the union has to complain.
It’s Silver’s job to enforce them though, although I suppose if your bosses (the owners) aren’t complaining maybe he has little impetus to actually do his job in this case.
Ultimately, if the SEC can comb through hundreds of thousands of transcripts and catch insider trading in the digital era, the NBA would only need to hire, like, a very small team of lawyers to comb through any tampering allegations.
They’d only have to let the hammer down once—then you’d see tampering more or less go away. In a league of only 30 teams, this really shouldn’t be that hard to enforce
They’re CBA rules, so he should be operating under them. Say (practically) there does need to be a complaint (and there’s been none to date), is this statement from Silver (the enforcement authority) one that invites any? Or does this statement (when added to his nominal, 2nd round pick, penalties for teams jumping FA), send a message to potential complainants of “don’t bother” (it’s only “public” trade demands that trouble him)? I think the latter.
Tsai is not a happy man (Marks either, but, for him, it’s a job). Tsai paid 150 mm in luxury tax solely to bring Harden in for 2 years (last year and this year) to make a run at the title. YES, he may have gotten equal value, but he didn’t get what he paid for, and by the hand of people violating the CBA. Yet, if I’m him, I wouldn’t bother filing a complaint. Who cares if the Sixers lose a 2nd round pick. He’s from China so he’s likely used to dealing with an enforcement authority that has only selective interest in actual enforcement.
In the playoffs, Harden did try but did not look healthy… Actually he played too much for what he could do IMO… so he offered that at least.
I think by now we all know that Optimus Dime wants to play, how HOU keeps daring to say it is of mutual accord baffles me!
#FreeOptimusDime
Accept a buyout…and be free. Otherwise, sit.
I am sure he accepts a buyout at the full price, deal!
The current Nets team was built on tampering. Kyrie + KD in the tunnel. So stop w this garbage.
The majority of great teams have been built on tampering—Brooklyn, this Philly team, almost every LeBron team, GSW w/ KD, but I think that’s the point here. It all needs to stop.
Or just change the rule and say, sure, players and agents and GMs can have these conversations at any time about players moving to new teams (regardless of their contract status).
That kind of seems to be the status quo anyway. Honestly, the league probably views it as a plus from a business standpoint—it keeps the gossip rags and message boards active 12 months a year.
Agree the tampering stuff is a farce. Just do comp picks or something with the cap for teams that lose top tier talent.
How about just suffer, as about 50% of sports fans will do regardless of CBA enforceability. Or move to Russia, where the oowners will collude on everything instead of the players selling each other on second-dog status.
Ya know the real tampering probably happened when Morey and Harden were still in Houston,when Morey interviewed with the 6ers but stayed in Houston.They probably schemed it up then.
Push in all the chips to get Westbrook,and after it didn’t work,Morey left and a short time later Harden asked for his trade.Houston just delayed it by sending him to Brooklyn instead.