NBA opens investigation into Sixers’ free agency, James Harden’s pay cut, per report
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Report: NBA opens investigation into Sixers’ free-agent moves originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The NBA has reportedly opened an investigation into the Sixers’ moves during free agency.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday night that the league is investigating “possible tampering and early contact centered on the franchise’s summer free agency class of James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and the team have begun cooperating with the league, Wojnarowski reported.
Free-agent negotiations were officially permitted to begin at 6 p.m. ET on June 30. Within 15 minutes, the Sixers were expected to finalize a three-year, $33.2 million deal with Tucker and had a two-year, $8.5 million agreement with House, a source confirmed that night to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
It’s not unusual for rumors of mutual interest between a team and free agent to leak before negotiations can technically start. The expected Tucker-Sixers pairing was widely reported in the week before free agency. Jalen Brunson to the Knicks was another such example this year.
Wojnarowski reported the NBA’s investigation “is expected to include interviews with team personnel and the organization turning over electronic correspondence and phone records to league investigators.”
After a draft-night deal to acquire De’Anthony Melton from the Grizzlies, Morey emphasized the Sixers did not have anything set in stone for free agency.
“We’re excited for free agency,” Morey said. “Don’t know how it’ll play out, but (managing partner Josh Harris and co-managing partner David Blitzer) have given us every ability to do whatever we need to do in free agency to make the team better now. Add hopefully another rotation piece.
“That’s a little ways away and who knows how it’ll play out. But people want to play here, people love our team, people love playing with Joel (Embiid), love playing with James, love playing with Tobias…
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Source : yahoo
