Report: Small-market GMs outraged at NBA after LeBron's Davis comments

Numerous small-market NBA general managers have expressed outrage over what they believe is the league's unwillingness to enforce its own tampering rules following comments by LeBron James regarding Anthony Davis, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"It's open season on small markets and our players," one anonymous Eastern Conference GM told Wojnarowski.

Asked Tuesday for his thoughts on the prospect of the New Orleans Pelicans superstar eventually joining the Los Angeles Lakers, James replied, "that would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible."

Several general managers told ESPN they reached out to Pelicans GM Dell Demps to express dismay over the comments. For his part, Davis downplayed James' remarks, saying "I don't really care."

The NBA's tampering rules state that any player or team executive that directly or indirectly "entices, induces, persuades or attempts to entice" a person under contract to another team to join their own is in violation.

Executives, however, are fined more frequently than players. Lakers president Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka were fined twice last season over tampering allegations concerning Paul George.

An NBA spokesperson told Wojnarowski on Friday that "each case is assessed on its own facts."

The spokesperson added that "in general, absent evidence of team coordination or other aggravating factors, it is not tampering when a player makes a comment about his interest in playing with another team's player."

Davis is under contract with the Pelicans through at least 2019-20 but is eligible to sign a supermax extension with New Orleans next summer.