Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-tampering rule.
During an NBA on TNT appearance, Green made comments about Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker, saying, “Get my man out of Phoenix. It’s not good for him, it’s not good for his career.”
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) August 9, 2020
When host Ernie Johnson directly, albeit jokingly, asked Green if he was tampering, the latter hesitated a moment before answering: “Maybe.”
Tampering has long been an issue in the NBA, although it has always been against league rules. The most obvious examples have often come from the annual opening of free agency, which every year sees deals tentatively signed as soon as the period officially opens, leaving little room for doubt that communication between players, general managers, coaches and others took place prior to the allotted span.
In September of 2019, the league’s board of governors approved measures created to increase the fines around tampering and improve the league’s ability to both monitor and detect it. Since then, the NBA has been more willing to punish teams for transgressions, including notably fining the Milwaukee Bucks $50,000 in September of 2019 after Jon Horst, the team’s general manager, said in a television appearance that the Bucks would eventually offer their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, a supermax contract.
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