“Daryl had no idea what James was going to do” - Doc Rivers says the Philadelphia 76ers were not involved in any tampering despite rumors
After an impressive offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves under investigation by the league office. A tampering investigation has been launched against them regarding the signings of James Harden, Danuel House Jr., and P.J. Tucker.
ESPN Sources: The NBA has opened an investigation into the Philadelphia 76ers for possible tampering and early contact centered on franchise’s summer free agency class of James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House. Sixers have begun cooperating with league on probe. Story soon.
The first domino of the summer for the 76ers was what James Harden was going to do in terms of his player option. In the end, the former MVP declined $47 million and restructured a new two-year, $68.6 million deal to stay in Philly. With more cap space at his disposal following this move, Daryl Morey was able to go out and acquire the pair of veteran forwards. Now, the league is searching to see if there were any forms of early contact regarding this trio of signings.
Wonder if the NBA is going to look into the #knicks for tampering with Jalen Brunson. Or just the #sixers.
Recently, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers spoke with ESPN's Vince Carter regarding the allegations against the team. He brought up that Daryl Morey had no clue what James Harden was going to do hours before he had to make a final decision on his option.
"I can guarntee Daryl had no idea what James was going to do. I remember talking to him on the eve of when James could opt in or out and he was like 'we got five hours left.' That was Daryl Morey so that tells you he had no idea."
Doc Rivers reflects on 76ers adding more toughness in offseason
Tampering case aside, it's hard not to view Philly as one of the biggest winners of the NBA offseason. Along with retaining one of their star players, they added depth without having to sacrifice any key pieces. Danny Green was traded on draft night, but is expected to miss most of the season as he recovers from an ACL injury suffered in the playoffs.
Later in the interview with Vince Carter, Doc Rivers spoke about how much deeper of a team the 76ers are now compared to last season. More importantly, he feels they are a tougher group.
"We needed to add some toughness to our team. Getting P.J. obviously handles a lot of that, but De'Anthony Melton is the same DNA as that as well. We needed that on this team."
With their star talent in place, the Sixers needed to go out and find hard-nosed players who can fit in alongside them. Looking at their roster now, it's safe to say they found what they were looking for. Whether they get fined for tampering or not, there is no denying that they have closed the gap between them and other top teams in the Eastern Conference.