Why did the NBA fine Los Angeles Clippers’ P.J. Tucker $75,000?
While it’s clear that the NBA has strict rules on what players can and can’t say, it’s hard not to sympathize with the player and the situation that he faces.
As we saw with James Harden last summer, the league does not tolerate players attempting to make their own moves in the market. On the other hand, with the player’s desire now clear, will a sanction stop him from getting his way?
The NBA got serious with P.J. Tucker
According to an official league announcement on Thursday, Los Angeles Clippers forward P.J. Tucker has been fined $75,000 by the NBA for making public trade demands. The full press release stated: “The NBA announced today that LA Clippers forward P.J. Tucker has been fined $75,000 by the NBA for public comments reported during the week of February 5 expressing a desire to be traded to another team.”
In terms of context, the 38-year-old was acquired by the Clippers in the James Harden trade on Halloween last year. After making just 12 appearances for the team, Tucker was removed from rotation. To that end, the power forward has not played since November 27th which is to say one can understand why he might want to take his talents elsewhere. Widely regarded as a top-tier perimeter defender, he was part of the Milwaukee Bucks team that won an NBA championship in 2021. “I want to be somewhere where I’m needed, wanted, and can do it all,” Tucker told Andscape’s Marc Spears just hours before the trade deadline last week. “I don’t know what’s going to happen but I have my fingers crossed and I’m hoping to go somewhere else whether I get bought out and choose where I go or where I can play.”
So, what exactly did P.J. Tucker do?
It was back on February 1st when Tucker told The Athletic that he was being a professional “while trying to get in a better situation for me, personally.” When questioned about whether he spoke with the team’s coaches regarding his role going forward he responded by pointing to the future. “That’s something that I think would happen more down the line. We’ll see what happens these next two weeks, going into Feb. 8. And I’ll just have to figure it out from there.”
What came next, however, was more of an outburst than a calculated response. Indeed, as the trade deadline passed without any trade, Tucker appeared to lose his cool in a post on social media. “All this shit is a f---ing joke”, he stated in his Instagram story. Interestingly, it was later reported that he would not be requesting a buyout, something that made sense when reports on the very next day indicated that the Clippers front office believes that Tucker could still be of value to the team in the postseason due to his size and strength. Even more so when it comes to defending players such as Nikola Jokic or Zion Williamson. Most recently, we learned that both Tucker and Bones Hyland had been sent home early from the team’s road trip. As for what comes next, it remains unclear but what we do know is that Tucker has an $11.5 million player option for next season. Where the fine is concerned, it is the largest handed out to any player so far this season, and the largest since James Harden was given a $100,000 back in August last year for doing something similar.