The NBA has opened an investigation into a possible tampering violation committed by the Philadelphia 76ers centered on their signings of James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.

Harden declined his $47 million player option to sign a one-plus-one contract with the 76ers at $33 million in Year 1 to give the team flexibility to sign Tucker and House.

Some have wondered if another deal with Harden is in place for the future, which would be a violation of league rules.

Tucker joined the Sixers from the Miami Heat on a three-year, $33.2 million deal.

NBA rookies entering the league in 2022 could conceivably earn more than $1 billion in player contracts alone based on the existing contract structures and project cap increases during the course of their careers.

A player drafted this year would make roughly $144 million over the first three years of his designated max extension, and then could sign another extension. In 2032, with a projected salary cap at about $200 million, he could sign a five-year, $403 million deal. When that contract runs out, there could be another three-year, roughly $287 million deal waiting.

Nine players made $20 million or more during the 2015-16 season, with Kobe Bryant topping the list at $25 million. Ten players are already set to make more than $50 million during the 2025-26 campaign. 

The Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons are heading to arbitration to settle the approximately $20 million withheld from him as he sought a trade, which is a story every team is closely monitoring. 

Simmons initially failed to report to the Sixers, but then said he was mentally not ready to play as the two sides continued a contentious standoff. 

The ruling will establish precedent for possible future holdouts by players seeking trades.

"I don't know exactly how long it takes for these things to unfold, but that's not over," said Zach Lowe. "That's ongoing. I know that for sure. There have have been filings recently in it. And I think it's $20 million or something is at stake in forfeited salary that the Sixers withheld.

"To say the league and its 29 other teams are watching and listening and eagerly anticipating the outcome of that case is also an understatement. Whatever the outcome of that case is, it is going to be an earthquake when it happens if it's one sided. 

"If it's like 'you know what 50/50, just whatever'. It will be 'I don't know how to take it.'

"If it's 90/10 in either direction, it's going to be an earthquake."

The NBA is entering another round of collective bargaining talks, which could involve discussions of how the player empowerment era has impacted teams and players.

But what could be a more likely scenario than rule changes is the ownership side changing how they conduct their business and how much power they're willing to freely give to players. 

The Brooklyn Nets gave Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving tremendous power when they signed with the franchise in 2019, but that power was largely revoked this offseason. Other franchises may be following suit.

"There is the beginning of push back by teams," said Brian Windhorst on ESPN Daily. "Definitely in Brooklyn. Definitely in Utah. And they are going to be out stars because of it. And we are heading to a collective bargaining negotiation that's going to take place over the summer. There's been an assumption that the owners are going to push for massive changes; I haven't heard that from any of the actual people on the ownership side.

"We do have Adam Silver on record saying players have to honor their contracts. And we do see two organizations shoving back on their stars, potentially to the detriment to their championship hopes.

"And we're monitoring the Lakers. We're monitoring the Lakers."

"Brian, what you're telling me is something is happening in Los Angeles," replied Pablo Torre. 

Windhorst goes on to allude to how LeBron James is pushing for the Lakers to trade for Kyrie Irving, and there could be consequences should a deal not be executed. 

"Definitely Brooklyn, definitely Utah, and we have the L.A. Lakers on the watch list for pushing back on players guiding so much of what's going on," said Windhorst.