NBA responds to claims that LeBron tampered with Anthony Davis remarks
LeBron James angered many executives around the NBA when he openly stated this week that he would love if the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Anthony Davis, but the league says the four-time MVP was not guilty of breaking any rules.
On Friday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski published a story citing several small-market general managers who are furious with the NBA for allowing LeBron to say playing with Davis “would be amazing.” A league spokesperson later confirmed that there is really no such thing as player-to-player tampering.
An NBA spokesman tells ESPN: “Each case is assessed on its own facts. In general, absent evidence of team coordination or other aggravating factors, it is not tampering when a player makes a comment about his interest in playing with another team’s player.” https://t.co/6hEIyW3qBi
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2018
We know Magic Johnson has already been fined multiple times for remarks he has made about players under contract with other teams, but the NBA does not view comments from a player the way it views comments from an executive.
Small-market GMs want the rules to be clarified, and they argue that LeBron openly recruiting a player like Davis creates a media storm and makes it more difficult for teams like the New Orleans Pelicans to retain star players. Several GMs explained why it frustrates them so much while speaking with Wojnarowski, but the reality is that the NBA wants star players teaming up in big markets.
