NBA Robs 76ers of Draft Picks For Tampering: Lets Entire League Walk Free
Some time ago, the NBA opened an investigation into the 76ers’ signing of PJ Tucker during free agency. There was an allegation of tampering at play, you see.
For those of you not familiar with the NBA, accusing an NBA team of tampering with free agents is a lot like accusing the sun of rising. You’re right, but what did you really get out of this observation?
Well, the result of the NBA’s investigation has come to its conclusion. The league has decided to punish the 76ers for their tampering by taking away two second-round draft picks. One in 2023 and another in 2024.
NBA Docks 2nd Round Pick from 76ers
Now, how much does that matter? For a team like the 76ers–whose sole aim for the foreseeable future is winning a championship with their present core…it really doesn’t matter much at all.
The mission is the same as it ever was: win an NBA Championship with the core of Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers know this and almost said as much in their statement released to the media.
Second-round picks are not particularly valuable commodities in the NBA, and they’re even less valuable to teams with the mission statement that the 76ers have. So nobody should dread this little slap on the wrist.
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But the selective enforcement of the tampering rules is clownish behavior that the league has engaged in for years. Everyone tampers, and only certain teams every year get punished. It’s a disgrace, and they have no idea what they’re doing.
Any attempt to enforce this rule at all–given how prevalent the infractions are–will inevitably result in selective enforcement. The league has essentially said as much.
But this is nothing new. The NBA loves selectively enforcing rules against the Sixers. Just look at their mum reaction to the ongoing tanking of Oklahoma City, and compare it to the mess that was the Colangelo incident.
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