Philadelphia 76ers might be in grave trouble as NBA reportedly plans to launch an investigation into their deal involving James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House. Let’s get right into the details.
Everything we know:
It is well known that James Harden opted out of his contract with the 76ers in the offseason in order to let the team use the remaining cap to prioritize more of their targets.
Philadelphia 76ers then proceeded to sign P.J. Tucker for a three-year contract one minute into the free agency. Later on, they also signed Danuel House. Then, Harden returned to the 76ers. Apparently, he got the $33 million 76ers had in their hard cap.
Some people saw this as a suspicious move which could lead to Harden getting a major payday next summer.
“The NBA has opened an investigation into the Philadelphia 76ers for possible tampering and early contact centered on the franchise’s summer free agency class of James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House,” reports say.
“One of the central elements of the league’s probe includes questions on Harden’s decision to decline a $47.4 million player option for 2022-23 and take a pay cut on a new two-year, $68 million deal. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has already begun answering questions from league attorneys,” it is reported.
Also read: Celtics negotiate offer with Nets involving Kevin Durant and Jaylen Brown: Reports
Will NBA finally take action against widespread tampering?
The bigger question here is if NBA will finally draw the line on tampering, because it is widespread. Everybody knows about it, everybody takes part in it. Further, NBA also benefits from the social media buzz when multiple deals get announced within minutes of the opening of free agency.
NBA either needs to crack down on tampering or needs to stop pretending that it will.
Also read: Jalen Brunson deal with the Knicks might be under the microscope for tampering: Reports
Philadelphia 76ers’ future:
Philadelphia definitely stocked its roster this season with this move. Nailing players like Tucker and House while keeping Harden on their team will definitely give them a slight edge in the season.
They might just get their wrists slapped. Teams which have previously partaken in tampering got costed a late second-round pick.
They did tamper with Tucker by the letter of the law.
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