When LeBron James released a statement expressing interest towards playing with Anthony Davis, the Pelicans made sure LeBron regretted it to some extent.
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Player tampering is an issue that the NBA takes seriously and the Pelicans felt that that is exactly what LeBron was trying to do.
LeBron later clarified his comments by confirming that he was merely expressing interest towards playing with a very talented player, something that he would have done for a host of other players in the league.
Now, while the NBA did not take any action against LeBron for his comments, they have now gone ahead and sent a memo to all NBA teams, updating them on the rules of tampering.
ESPN has obtained a memo that the NBA sent to teams today to “serve as a reminder of the league’s anti-tampering rule.” In letter, NBA says, “employment contracts are to be respected and conduct that interferes w/ contractual relationships is prohibited.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 28, 2018
Memo: “This principle is particularly important in today’s media environment, where any actions or comments relating to potential player movement receive immediate and widespread public attention. Teams should be entitled to focus their efforts on the competition this season…” https://t.co/m1VVWmnCUX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 28, 2018
More NBA memo: “…with the players they have under contract, without having to divert attention or resources to conduct or speculation regarding the potential destinations of those players in future seasons once their contracts expire.” Translated: Knock it off w/ Anthony Davis.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 28, 2018
“This principle is particularly important in today’s media environment, where any actions or comments relating to potential player movement receive immediate and widespread public attention.” the memo read
“Teams should be entitled to focus their efforts on the competition this season with the players they have under contract, without having to divert attention or resources to conduct or speculation regarding the potential destinations of those players in future seasons once their contracts expire.” it added.
But the memo can’t really stop LeBron from going out on a dinner date with Davis and maybe recruiting him there. Or LeBron could just go ahead and text/call Davis regarding the benefits of joining the Lakers.
Now, despite that memo coming out right after LeBron’s comments, James hasn’t really stopped showing his appreciation for possible Laker targets.
Kawhi Leonard put on a show for the Raptors, with a video of his double cross over surfacing on social media.
LeBron took out the time to share that on Twitter, captioning it with ‘Nasty’.
Nasty!! https://t.co/xkmg3fsHOi
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 29, 2018
Again, this does fall under the player appreciation category, but the fact the Kawhi Leonard could opt for free agency next season and Lakers have expressed interest in recruiting him; James could once again find himself in a major controversy.
James is currently recuperating from a groin injury with the Lakers visibly struggling without him. While they don’t want to rush him back, they would be hoping that he doesn’t hog the sidelines for too long.
