Official release

NBA fines Warriors owner Jacob Lacob $50,000 for Simmons comments

In an article published on Tuesday, Lacob told the San Francisco Chronicle that a trade for Simmons "doesn't really fit what we're doing."

Associated Press

September 22, 2021 10:03 PM

Joe Lacob’s comments about Ben Simmons violated the league’s anti-tampering rule.

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA fined Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob $50,000 for violating the league’s anti-tampering rule with comments he made about Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons.

Lacob said the Warriors had no interest in the disgruntled Sixers guard.

“In some ways, it doesn’t really fit what we’re doing,” Lacob said this week. “He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know.

“He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond [Green]. Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the playmaking. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”