Silver: 'We have work to do' to curb tampering

Commissioner Adam Silver believes more must be done to combat tampering in the NBA.

Silver acknowledged that the league "has always known" of "acceptable" levels of discussion among players and teams ahead of the official start of free agency, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, but he didn't seem pleased with the way things unfolded this summer.

"My sense in the room today, when it comes to free agency and the rules around it, we have work to do," Silver said at his annual Board of Governors press conference on Tuesday, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Silver added: "My job is to enforce a fair set of rules. I think right now, we're not quite there."

Under NBA rules, teams are permitted to begin talking with free agents after 6 p.m. ET on June 30. But many of the league's marquee players were reportedly off the market by then.

Silver says to expect adjustments to the league's moratorium period next season, and rule changes will be on the table.

"The one strong conviction I have is that we should not have rules that are not strictly enforced," Silver said, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. "And we know that’s the case right now.

"And whether that’s by virtue of practice, whether it’s because just the world around us has changed, whether it’s because players have power that they didn’t use to have ... let’s step back, let’s reset, let’s talk to our players’ association about what system makes sense going forward."