Just under a week ago, the NBA announced the Philadelphia 76ers are being investigated for possible tampering in their offseason free agency moves.
The tampering was allegedly done regarding the contracts handed out to James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Danuel House.
For Tucker and House, it is a less serious allegation that seemingly happens every year.
Deals are ironed out before teams and players can legally begin talking.
With Harden, it is a form of tampering the league takes seriously.
The NBA has opened an investigation on the 76ers for potential early contact and tampering, confirmed by @rich_hofmann.
The investigation is focused on the 76er’s free-agency deals with James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.https://t.co/1Jbu7C9vAV
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) July 30, 2022
The 76ers are under investigation because of the pay cut Harden took for the upcoming season.
Harden agreed to a two-year, $68.6 million deal after opting out of his player option for the upcoming season.
His player option would have paid him $47 million and his new deal will only pay him $33 million.
That $14 million pay cut is what allowed the 76ers to sign Tucker and House.
Competing teams have wondered if Harden took the pay cut now with a handshake deal for more money next offseason.
That is something that is illegal in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Doc Rivers has said it is false and the organization is cooperating in the investigation.
76ers Situation
The Tucker and House situation is not unique.
Every year, teams announce deals with free agents within minutes of free agency officially opening.
How could that be possible if they were supposedly not allowed to be in contact until that time?
All 30 NBA teams have tampered in one way or another, but the league only punishes the most blatant cases (or most high-profile).
Harden’s situation is a little different.
Unless Morey sent a text, email, or letter to Harden explicitly stating he has a max contract waiting for him next offseason if he takes a pay cut this offseason, it will be tough to prove.
Harden has stated his desire to win, so maybe he really did take a pay cut to better his chances of winning.
It is also technically a two-year deal, so he took added security with the extra year.
John Hollinger of The Athletic also brought up an interesting point regarding this style of tampering.
🚨🚨🚨 NEW EPISODE 🚨🚨🚨
Hollinger & Duncan NBA Show with @NateDuncanNBA
* Talking tampering and Bogdanovic
* What Warriors do w/o Klay
* What happens with Harden
* And all of our draft winners and losersSubscribe:https://t.co/Qjy4nHTLKE
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) November 20, 2020
“Where does the league care to draw the line?”
Harden is under investigation this year but no action was taken against the LA Clippers with Nic Batum or the Milwaukee Bucks with Bobby Portis.
Both players took a one-year deal below their market value in 2021 and then re-signed for their max value this offseason.
If any punishment is doled out for Harden, the 76ers will almost certainly raise the question about those two cases.
After a fruitful offseason, the 76ers now find themselves in a unique situation.
And one that could shape the future of NBA free agency.
