The NBA announced Wednesday that it has fined Golden State Warriors governor Joe Lacob $50,000 for violating the league's anti-tampering rule following his comments regarding Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons, who has reportedly requested a trade.
The comments in question were made to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Lacob referenced a "Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Philadelphia" and said the following:
"I think we are always looking at everything to see if we can improve our team. We would always look," Lacob said.
Lacob added:
"In some ways, it doesn't really fit what we're doing.