Draymond Green fined $50,000 after comments on Devin Booker needing to leave the Suns

During Draymond Green's recent appearance on Inside the NBA on TNT, the Golden State Warriors star spoke about Devin Booker needing to get out of the Phoenix Suns if he ever wants to win in the league. His interference in another team's affairs as an active player in the NBA was considered as tampering. This weekend, the NBA slapped a fine of $50,000 on the 30-year-old power forward for his comments on Devin Booker. 

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Draymond Green fined: NBA fines Warriors staar after comments urging Devin Booker to leave Phoenix Suns

During Friday's broadcast, Draymond Green praised Booker and the Suns for maintaining their impressive 4-0 streak inside the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida. However, he emphasised on getting his man "out of Phoenix" as it is not "good for him". Green was convinced that staying with the team is not good for Booker's career, as he needs to be "somewhere where he can play great basketball all the time and win because he's that type of player". TNT's Ernie Johnson immediately asked Green if he was tampering, to which Green responded with a "maybe". 

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Draymond Green tampering comments on NBA on TNT

well this just happened pic.twitter.com/ZeVyNp8Blw

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) August 7, 2020

Why was Draymond Green fined?

The league had tightened their rules regarding tampering, salary-cap circumvention and free-agency timing before 2019-20 season after LeBron James had talked about wanting to play with Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers. The memo the league sent out prohibited any sort of player-to-player tampering. As per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the fine charged will be the maximum the NBA can give.

Previously, the league had charged several executives for interfering with matters relating to the team's contracts. In 2018, the Lakers were fined $50,000 after Magic Johnson commented on Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. At the time, Johnson was serving as the team's president of basketball operations. Interestingly, the Bucks were fined in 2019 when general manager Jon Horst publicly spoke about the Bucks offering Giannis a max contract. 

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Suns react to Draymond Green tampering comment on Devin Booker needing to leave the team

We’ve got at least 50(k) reasons why we love @DevinBook pic.twitter.com/5vLqvwqSLW

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) August 9, 2020

Devin Booker stats and Suns' record at the bubble

Booker is about to complete his first year with the team under his $158 million contract extension with the Suns, which lasts through the year 2024. He's averaging 26.4 points per game this season and is looking to lead the team to their first playoff appearance in ten years. The Suns remain the only undefeated team at the Orlando bubble, going 5-0 since the NBA resumed play. The team is currently half a game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. If the Suns rank ninth, they will get the chance to compete with No. 8 seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in tournament, which gives them a chance to qualify for the postseason series. 

Booker has also responded to Green's comments, emphasising on the fact that he needs to stay loyal to his team and fans. According to ESPN's Nick Friedell, Booker stated that despite the lack of success, their team staff has been cooperative and tremendous. “And this is what we owe to the fans, we owe to the organization. It’s been a long time for us and I think this bubble opportunity was big for us, and we’re taking advantage of it,” Booker explained. 

Also read | Draymond Green accused of tampering after asking Devin Booker to leave Suns on National TV: Draymond Green tampering

(Image source: NBA.com, Suns Instagram)