Sixers news: Adam Silver reacts to James Harden tampering talks

After the Sixers traded for James Harden from the Nets, there were talks that Adam Silver could open an investigation about tampering.

After the Philadelphia 76ers executed a trade to get James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets, there were talks that Adam Silver could open an investigation about a possible tampering. After all, Daryl Morey and the Sixers have long shown interest in The Beard, and then Harden himself wanted to get out of Brooklyn amid a rather frustrating campaign filled with injuries and other off-court issues.

Even before the trade deadline, there were reports that NBA teams suspect the Sixers of tampering in hopes to force a sign-and-trade for Simmons with the Nets.

However, despite those persistent rumors about a possible tampering investigation, the NBA Commissioner shrugged it off and emphasized that there is no ongoing investigation on the Sixers related to tampering. After all, the two teams and the players seem pretty happy with the outcome of the deadline deal.

“I think, in this case, you have two teams that seem satisfied with the outcome of the trade,” Silver said during annual State of the NBA at the All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, per NBA insider Keith Smith.

The Sixers and Nets reached an agreement at the deadline, with Philly sending Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks to Brooklyn in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap.

Simmons' relationship with Philly was already impossible to fix, so trading him was the only solution–though the Sixers remained firm in their asking price of getting an All-Star caliber player back. Meanwhile, Harden's frustration with the Nets was clear heading to the deadline, and while the team spoke like there wasn't any problem, that was made clear to be an attempt to not make anything publicly and create unnecessary distraction.

Adam Silver certainly makes a good point. Since what happened was a trade that the Nets and Sixers agreed upon, investigating a tampering case might prove to be difficult and useless. Besides, it's not like Brooklyn is complaining about it since they got a pretty good deal in return–a young player who can fill a huge need for them and a couple of role players who can be impactful come playoff time.