Today the NBA sent a message to its teams about tampering…..literally.
The comments of LeBron James ( and those of Giannis Antetokounmpo, though they aren’t getting near the amount of pub) in regards to Pelicans forward/center Anthony Davis were, much to the delight of several NBA GM’s, the impetus for the NBA sending out a memorandum to teams to remind them of tampering rules.
More from the NBA memo:
This principle is particularly important in today’s media environment, where any actions or comments relating to potential player movement receive immediate and widespread public attention. Teams should be entitled to focus their efforts on the competition this season with the players they have under contract, without having to divert attention or resources to conduct or speculation regarding the potential destinations of those players in future seasons once their contracts expire.”
The NBA’s rules on tampering do not apply to the players who have free reign to talk about players leaguewide.
James’ comments on Davis may have drawn additional attention considering the fact that as he is nearly universally recognized as the league’s current best player and biggest star. When it comes to making roster changes, like it or not, when Lebron voices his concerns over a roster he is on, things tend to happen, ( Lebron is many things but stupid is not one of them) and his comments could be shrewdly planned official opening salvo in the plan to bring Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. There is also the Klutch Sports connection , ( Davis signed with the agencywhich Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith can attest to, has a way of getting things done for its clientele.
The last point was touched up one by Zach Lowe of ESPN in a recent article in which he wrote that executives around the league “dont know where Lebron ends and Klutch begins.”
Whether Lebron, Giannis or any other player who doesn’t ball for the Pelicands mentions Anthony Davis, the topic is not simply going to go quietly into the night. It will still be a nearly daily point of discussion on nearly every sports centered outlet far and wide. If AD does ends up donning the purple and gold, right or wrong , there will be cloud hanging over the acquisition that it only happened through some degree of chicanery.
