NBA sends out a memo addressing issue with tampering in the league

In the last couple of weeks, there has been much attention being paid toward the trade rumors surrounding New Orleans Pelicans star forward Anthony Davis.

The chatter on this front had picked up with Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James weighing on the matter by stating he would love to play with Davis. In response to all the negative backlash behind the scenes has led to the league to send out a memo about the situation, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

In a memo obtained by ESPN on Friday morning, league counsel seemed to be alluding to James’ scenario, saying, “employment contracts are to be respected and conduct that interferes with contractual employment relationships is prohibited.

“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 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.”

This is simply a warning to the league and its players that the focus should remain on the court and their respective organizations. There may not be a rule in place for players to talk about each other, but this is a subtle way from the league to touch upon that aspect.

That said, it is something that is going to deter players from talking to each other on their own time. It’s also hard not to read the writing on the wall that Davis could consider leaving the Pelicans.

Nonetheless, this is a reminder that the league wants to avoid this matter from becoming bigger than it already is.