Clippers fined $50,000 for breaching anti-tampering rule

The Los Angeles Clippers were fined $50,000 on Friday for violating the NBA's anti-tampering rule because of recent comments in which coach Doc Rivers compared Kawhi Leonard to all-time NBA great Michael Jordan. Leonard, who led the Toronto Raptors to the NBA Finals, is slated to become a free agent after the season, and the Clippers are one of the teams expected to seek his services.

Rivers made the comments Tuesday when he appeared on an NBA Finals preview show on ESPN. "(Leonard) is the most like Jordan that we've seen," Rivers said on the show. "There's a lot of great players. LeBron (James) is phenomenal, KD (Kevin Durant) is phenomenal. Not that (Leonard) is Jordan or anything like that, but he's the most like him. Big hands, post game, can finish. Great leaper, great defender, in-between game. If you beat him to the spot he bumps you off, and then you add his 3-point shooting."

The Clippers haven't been shy about their upcoming interest in Leonard, who is a native of Riverside, located approximately 60 miles east of Los Angeles.