Bucks fined $50,000 after GM said the team would give Giannis Antetokounmpo a max offer
The Milwaukee Bucks have been fined $50,000 for tampering with their own player. The NBA fined the team Tuesday after Bucks general manager Jon Horst said the team planned to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a max offer once he was eligible.
Even though Horst was talking about a player on the Bucks, the timing of his statement violated NBA rules.
Bucks get hit with a $50k fine for discussing Giannis’ possible extension. NBA Commish Adam Silver, as we discussed yesterday, has decided to take on tampering https://t.co/SWZUlhpILm pic.twitter.com/F7upfRXlus
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) September 24, 2019
In a release, the NBA explained its decision:
“Under NBA rules, teams cannot commit to offer a ‘supermax’ extension prior to the summer following a player’s seventh season in the NBA.”
The 24-year-old Antetokounmpo is slated to begin his seventh season in the league in October. Over his previous six seasons, Antetokounmpo has developed into one of the game’s best players. He’s made the All-Star team in three straight seasons and was named the NBA MVP last year.
All of that made Antetokounmpo an obvious choice to receive a supermax deal from the Bucks as soon as he was eligible. That will still happen, but don’t expect anyone from the Bucks to talk about it on the record until next summer.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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