Bucks fined $50K for speaking publicly about Giannis' potential super-max

The Milwaukee Bucks have been fined $50,000 for general manager Jon Horst's comments about the future contract status of the team's franchise player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league announced Tuesday.

The move is part of the NBA's efforts to crack down on tampering - even if that means holding teams accountable for how they approach their own players' contract negotiations.

While speaking at a fan event earlier this month, Horst declared that the Bucks would offer the reigning MVP a super-max extension next summer, which is the first opportunity to do so. Under current rules, no team can commit to offering a super-max extension until the summer following the player's seventh season.

At the event, Horst initially prefaced his response by acknowledging his inability to talk about the matter, before immediately doing so anyway:

The Bucks' $50,000 fine is identical to what the Los Angeles Lakers were handed two years ago when then-team president Magic Johnson made public comments praising Antetokounmpo, saying that he would "put Milwaukee on the map" and bring the city a championship at some point.

As part of the crackdown on tampering this summer, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has proposed new penalties for teams that violate the rules about recruiting players. Last week, the NBA Board of Governors approved stricter measures for tampering violations, including forfeiting draft picks, voiding contracts, and suspending team executives.