Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News reports that the three team trade between Denver, Houston and the Sixers was approved by the NBA when it should not have been. The deal was approved on December 18th. But one of the players in the deal, Art Long, was not eligible to be traded until December 30th.
The league has decided it will not rescind the trade.
Under CBA rules, a newly signed player can not be traded until December 15th or three months after his signing date. Long was signed on September 30th, just before training camp opened. That means he was traded 12 days before he was eligible.
"After the trade was approved, it was discovered that under the league's trade rules, Art Long was 12 days shy of the waiting period required before he could be traded," said NBA spokesman Mark Broussard, who said the league sent all teams a letter of explanation. "After taking into account the effect rescinding the trade would have on the teams and players involved, and the fact that it would have been allowable 11 days later in any event, it was decided to let the trade stand."