Doc Rivers, head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, has been fined $50,000 for tampering after he comments made about Kawhi Leonard.
Many believe the comments were he compared Leonard to Michael Jordan on an ESPN broadcast as the flag. Rivers was a guest on the ESPN’s NBA Finals preview and complimented the style of play of the Toronto Raptors swingman.
“He is the most like Jordan that we’ve seen,” Rivers said. “Like, there’s a lot of great players. LeBron [James] is phenomenal. KD [Kevin Durant] is phenomenal. 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, bumps you off. Then you add his 3-point shooting. I never get into who’s the best player. Magic is the best player, Michael Jordan is the best player, LeBron. But it’s that same group.”
Rivers and the Clippers have basically stalked Leonard all year in hopes to bring him into the fold on their team this offseason when Leonard will be an unrestricted free agent. NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated he believed Rivers “crossed a bright line” in his discussion of Leonard.
The Clippers can have up to $54 million to bring stars into their team this summer. They will be competing with their same building rival Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and more for the services of a number of high-level NBA players this summer.
