Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard offered remarks on Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers getting fined for tampering.
Leonard kept his answers short when asked by The New York Post's Marc Berman regarding the matter. He said he had no idea that Rivers was penalized by the league. When the incident was explained to him in detail, he just said,
“Wouldn’t you feel bad he got fined because of that?’’
Leonard is set to become a free agent after the Raptors' Finals run, and according to numerous rumors, the Clippers are the front-runners to sign him this summer. However, there are other reports that say if Kawhi wins a title with the team, he will be willing to sign a short-term deal with them.
Rivers was a guest on ESPN's NBA Finals preview show, where he highly praised Leonard's game, going as far as saying that he's the closest thing to Michael Jordan he has ever seen.
“He is the most like [Michael] Jordan that we’ve seen. Like, there’s a lot of great players. LeBron [James] is phenomenal. KD [Kevin Durant] is phenomenal. But not that he 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, bumps you off. Then you add his 3-point shooting.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver found these comments by Rivers as exaggerated, which resulted in the decision to fine him $50,000.
“I understand the competing interests of the media hearing a coach’s view about a current NBA player, but it’s something that there’s a bright line in this league and you’re not allowed to do it. Coaches or team executives in those positions need to say I’m not permitted by the league to respond to that question. It’s a balance of interests, I understand that, but he unfortunately crossed a bright line.”
Leonard has kept his mouth shut regarding his free agency plans all season. He made it clear that his focus is on helping the Raptors win a championship. They already took Game 1 of the best-of-seven Finals series against the Warriors last Thursday and will aim to go up two games to none in Game 2 Sunday night.
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