Los Angeles Clippers forward P.J. Tucker has been fined $75,000 by the NBA for making public trade demands, the league announced on Thursday. The full press release: "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."
Tucker, 38, was acquired by the Clippers in the James Harden trade on Halloween. He appeared in 12 games for Los Angeles, and then he was removed from the rotation. Having not played since Nov. 27, it is not surprising that he wanted to be traded.
"I want to be somewhere where I'm needed, wanted and can do it all," Tucker told Andscape's Marc Spears on the morning of Feb. 8, hours before the 3 p.m. ET deadline. "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."
In a story published on Feb. 1, Tucker told The Athletic's Law Murray that he was being a professional "while trying to get in a better situation for me, personally." Asked about talking to Clippers coaches about what his role might be in Los Angeles, he said, "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."
Back on Dec. 11, Tucker told ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly, "I feel like I still got a lot to contribute to a team to be able to win, whether that's here or somewhere else. I know myself, my worth. I know what I bring. I know what I've brought. I know what I can continue to bring. And with that, I want to be able to go to a good team that I can be able to help that." Tucker said he understood there was no role for him with the Clippers at that time, and that "obviously [playing zero minutes is] not what I want to do right now the stage of my career."
When the deadline came and went without a Tucker trade, he posted "All this shit is a f---ing joke" on his Instagram story. Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, however, reported that he would not request a buyout. The next day, The Athletic reported that the Clippers front office believes that Tucker could still help them in the postseason, since his strength could be valuable defending players like Nikola Jokic or Zion Williamson.
On Wednesday, The Athletic reported that Tucker, along with guard Bones Hyland, had been sent home from their road trip early.
Tucker has an $11.5 million player option for next season. Last season, he started 75 games for the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 25.6 minutes (and averaged 26.7 minutes in 11 playoff games).
The $75,000 fine is the largest any NBA player has received during the regular season, and the largest since Harden was fined $100,000 for public trade demands in August.
