After concluding its tampering investigation, the NBA punished the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Philadelphia has been docked its second-round picks for 2023 and 2024 as a result of their premature free agency negotiations with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House this past offseason. Both players wound up signing with the 76ers.
This isn’t the first tampering penalty handed down by the league, and it won’t be the last.
“This happens when the NBA finds a team guilty of tampering (re: Tucker/House),” explained Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “They took both Milwaukee’s and Miami’s ‘22 SRPs because of the Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kyle Lowry discussions, respectively, and the Bulls also owe a 2nd rounder because of the Lonzo Ball tampering.”
That doesn’t mean people are happy about it though.
“As always, this form of punishment stinks and means two people who’ve worked hard for years to hear their names called in the NBA Draft won’t get that opportunity,” Gaming Society’s Matt Ellentuck wrote.
“Can only assume this is the start of a dozen or so similar penalties for other teams too. Unless of course, they Hate the P,” said Dave Early of Liberty Ballers.
“Unless the NBA starts taking away 1st-round picks, I don’t think many teams are going to care,” theorized Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score. “When you’re in a championship-or-bust mode, coughing up a 2nd-rounder or two to seal an advantage for veterans in free agency is worth it.”
“These picks should be reallocated in a lottery system so that teenagers aren’t penalized because of PJ Tucker and Danuel House,” suggested Andrew Doxy of the Celtics Blog.
Tucker has started all seven games for Philly thus far, averaging 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 53.3% from three-point range and playing his usual rugged defense.
House, meanwhile, is averaging only 2.7 points in 15.6 minutes per game while shooting just 27.3% from beyond the arc.