Last week, NBA Lakers President Magic Johnson imposed a fine of over $50,000 for praising Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has now explained this at the ESPN show “The Jump”.
“Context has a big meaning, and we’ve had a similar problem with the Lakers at the beginning of this season,” said Silver,”and the message is clear, not only for Magic, but also for all the other team officials in the league: stop talking about other team players.
Johnson had said about Antetokounmpo that he would be a future MVP in the league and that the Bucks would lead to a title, earlier in the season the Lakers had already had to pay $500,000, allegedly because Assistant Coach Brian Shaw had met privately with OKC star Paul George.
Silver made it clear that while legends like Johnson have an interesting perspective on the young stars, they also have to find the balance when they play official roles in teams,”There are plenty of comments out there. That’s why it has to be okay to hold back in this case,”says Silver.
“We love that all these legends are still involved in the game. But the other teams are also able to follow this rule, not talk about the players of other teams,”said Silver,”We could of course change this rule, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”