PHILADELPHIA — The NBA has opened an investigation into the 76ers for possible tampering in their free agency pursuits to re-sign James Harden and sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, a source confirmed to The Philadelphia Inquirer Friday night.
The Sixers had the cap space to sign Tucker to the full mid-level exception and House to the bi-annual exception because Harden declined his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season and re-signed with a paycut of about $14 million for this season.
Harden’s new two-year deal also includes a player option for $35.6 million for the 2023-24 season. ESPN, which first reported the news, said that “there have been questions about whether there’s already a handshake agreement in place on a future contract [for Harden] — which would be in violation of collective bargaining rules.”
The Sixers are cooperating with the investigation, a source confirmed.
Harden, a 10-time All-Star and 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player, declined his option on June 29, and Tucker and House agreed to their contracts shortly after free agency opened the evening of June 30. Harden then agreed to his new deal last week and officially signed it Wednesday. In a news release announcing Harden had re-signed, he said, “This is where I want to be. This is where I want to win, and I think we have the pieces to accomplish that goal.”
Harden, whom the Sixers acquired in last season’s blockbuster trade that also sent Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets, said after the Sixers lost to the Miami Heat in the playoffs’ second round that he would do “whatever it takes to help this team continue to grow and put us up there with the best of them.” He confirmed that in a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes, saying he told Morey “to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign, and give me whatever is left over.”
Last year, the NBA took second-round draft picks away from the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls as punishment for tampering. The league determined those teams spoke to the representatives of Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball, respectively, before both players were acquired in sign-and-trades at the start of free agency.
