The Orlando Magic say they are not ready to file tampering charges with the NBA against the New Jersey Nets or any other team for illegally contacting Magic center Dwight Howard.
Magic CEO Alex Martins said the team will investigate reports that teams met with Howard Thursday night in Miami, but NBA.com said that as of now the Magic have no “concrete evidence” of tampering.
``There aren’t any tampering charges. Dwight is under contract with us and our rules in the league are very explicit about when a player is under contract with a team other teams aren’t allowed to contact that player or a representative about them,’’ said Martins, who was promoted from team president to CEO earlier in the week. ``If that’s been voided in any way we’ll deal with it to the fullest extent that the NBA’s Constitution allows. But at this stage there aren’t any tampering charges.’
Reports had surfaced that Howard was requesting a trade to the Nets, followed by reports that the Nets had met with the star center in violation of league rules.