NBA commissioner Adam Silver doesn't think tampering has gotten worse in recent years

NBA fans — and teams — may want to punish the Los Angeles Lakers every time LeBron James makes it obvious he wants to recruit other stars, but that isn’t going to happen any time soon. Despite what some clubs think, commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t believe tampering has gotten worse in recent years.

Silver made those comments while appearing on a Sports Illustrated podcast with Chris Mannix.

Silver begins his answer by saying, “Your question seems to be premised on this notion that it’s gotten significantly worse. I’m not sure about that.”

Mannix then jumps in and says, “A lot of teams do believe that.”

Silver acknowledges that and explains the complications with determining tampering today. In the past, players talking about playing together has not been considered tampering. Why? Because — while critics of James will disagree —players aren’t general managers. They aren’t the ones signing the players to deals.

Social media has also played a role, according to Silver. It has made it easier for fans to see player interactions, which get interpreted as tampering.

Ultimately, Silver stands by his initial assessment. He concludes by saying, “I have no reason to believe [tampering] is worse than it was historically.”

For now, James can continue courting Anthony Davis and taking every single upcoming free agent in the All-Star draft.

Until things change, and Silver did say the NBA might have to look into the issue, that’s not considering tampering.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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