Magic Johnson has always enjoyed the spotlight, but the NBA would like him to stop talking about other teams’ players now that he is president of the Lakers.
The Lakers were fined $50,000 for tampering, the NBA announced Tuesday, because of comments made by Johnson in “a recent media interview.” The comments, in an article on ESPN.com, praised Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“He’s going to be like an MVP, a champion, this dude he’s going to put Milwaukee on the map,” Johnson said of the “Greek Freak.” “And I think he’s going to bring them a championship one day.”
Those comments seem pretty harmless. The Bucks liked that one of the NBA’s all-time greats was praising their guy so much that it became a post on the team’s official Instagram feed.
The league’s website, NBA.com, also posted a story about Johnson’s praise for Antetokounmpo.
This is the second time the Lakers have been fined for tampering since Johnson took over. They were hit with a $500,000 penalty after the Pacers accused the Lakers of tampering with Paul George, a southern California native that Indiana was trying to trade. They did eventually trade him to the Thunder, but “George potentially signing with the Lakers when he becomes a free agent after the 2017-18 season” has been a consistent storyline since last offseason.
That history almost certainly has something to do with the NBA cracking down on this infraction.