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, PJ Tucker and Danuel House, sources told ESPN on Friday.
The NBA investigation will include questions about Harden’s decision to decline a $47 million player option for 2022-23 and take a pay cut on a new two-year, $68 million contract, sources said. In the league, there have been questions about whether a handshake agreement already exists in a future contract, which would violate collective bargaining rules.
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has already begun fielding questions from league attorneys, the sources said. The investigation is expected to include interviews with team personnel and the organization to turn over electronic correspondence and phone records to league investigators.
Teams were not allowed to have discussions with agents or players about free agency deals prior to the opening of free agency at 6 p.m. ET on June 30.
Harden is guaranteed $33 million for the 2022-23 season and has a player option in 2023-24 that would allow him to become a free agent and negotiate another new contract.
Tucker ($30 million, three years) and House ($8.4 million, two years) agreed to the maximum contracts available to them under the mid-level and semi-annual extensions. Harden, Tucker and House previously played with Morey with the Rockets.
After investigations last year, the NBA stripped the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat of a second-round pick for early contact with free agents Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry in 2021.
The NBA instituted stricter penalties in these cases in 2019, including increasing the maximum fine for teams to $10 million and the possibility of suspending team executives, forfeiting draft picks and even voiding contracts. The possibility of the contracts being annulled is a practically non-existent threat.
The Milwaukee Bucks were penalized with the forfeiture of a 2022 second-round pick for rigging charges with Sacramento’s restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic in 2021. In imposing that penalty, the NBA took into account that the Bucks did not ultimately acquire Bogdanovic, since he finally signed with the Atlanta Hawks.
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