Milwaukee Bucks Fined $50,000 by NBA for Tampering

The NBA is serious about cracking down on tampering, as the Milwaukee Bucks discovered on Tuesday.

The Milwaukee Bucks were fined $50,000 as a result of comments made about Giannis Antetokounmpo by GM Jon Horst.

Jon Horst was speaking at a televised town hall event. He that the Milwaukee Bucks plan to offer the NBA MVP a supermax extension.

The NBA says Horst violated rules “governing the timing of discussions regarding future player contracts and permissible commitments to players.”

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Per league rules, the Bucks cannot commit to a supermax contract until the end of the player’s seventh season. Antetokounmpo is currently entering his seventh season, after which he would be eligible for the supermax extension. 

The Bucks intend to offer him a contract worth $253.8 million, which would be the largest in NBA history.

It’s clear the NBA is making an example of Jon Horst and the Bucks, as his comments were not inflammatory. As well as that, they were made in response to a direct question about a player he currently employs.

“Right now, you can’t talk and negotiate anything,” Horst said.

“Giannis, basically, a year from now, will be eligible for a supermax extension. At that time, of course, he’ll be offered a supermax extension.”

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Horst will feel hard done by as he acknowledged the fact that nothing can be negotiated currently. He is the first victim of the NBA’s new hardline stance on player tampering.

It’s no surprise to anyone that the Bucks want to pay Giannis Antetokounmpo. They could build a championship team around him if he sticks around.

“We all fully believe that if we put the right things in place and give Giannis the right opportunities — he loves Milwaukee, he loves the state of Wisconsin and I think he will be a Buck a long time,” Horst said.