In defending himself for tampering claims, Anthony Davis' agent Rich Paul stated that players have always recruited each other.

“This is nothing new. Players have always communicated with each other. Players have always played pick-up in the summer. The difference is (that) more players today are controlling and doing what they want to do vs. being told what to do, and that’s the difference," said Paul.

Anthony Davis was recently fined $50K after Paul publicly demanded a trade from the Pelicans.

Paul added that players are more bold in taking charge of their own destiny today than they were in the past. 

“Players didn’t know, or weren’t willing to do different things (like that), back in the day. They weren’t willing to say, ‘You know what? I want to go over here,’ whether it’s (because of) rules or know-how, they weren’t willing. They didn’t do those things, and now they are. That’s the difference.”