Current NBA coaches and executives may want to think twice about accepting requests to make guest analyst appearances on national television after the Clippers were hit with a $50,000 after Doc Rivers complimented Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard on ESPN.
It has been speculated that Leonard could make a move to Los Angeles in free agency this summer, and Clippers coach Doc Rivers made it clear during an NBA Finals preview show that he believes Leonard is a generational player. Rivers said that he believes Leonard is the closest talent to Michael Jordan that we’ve seen.
“He is the most like Jordan that we’ve seen. Like, there’s a lot of great players…. LeBron is phenomenal, KD is phenomenal. Not that [Kawhi] is Jordan or anything like that, but he is the most like him.
Big hands. Post game. Can finish. Great leaper. Great defender. In-between game. If you beat him to the spot, he bumps you off. And then you add his three-point shooting.”
NBA fans immediately accused Rivers of tampering and called for the league to punish the Clippers, and the NBA responded by levying the same $50,000 fine the Lakers received for Magic Johnson’s comments about Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2018. The previous year, the Lakers were fined $500,000 for a violation of the anti-tampering rules after making contact with Paul George while he was under contract with the Pacers.
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