Los Angeles—The NBA slapped the Milwaukee Bucks with a $50,000 fine for comments about a contract extension offer for reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league said Tuesday.
The fine pertains to recent comments from Bucks general manager Jon Horst regarding a supermax extension for Antetokounmpo. The team is not permitted to offer the contract extension until the summer of 2020.
Asked about Antetokounmpo’s contract situation on September 12 at a town hall event, Horst replied, “The answer right now is we can’t talk and negotiate anything. Giannis, basically a year from now, will be eligible for a supermax extension. At that time, of course, he’ll be offered a supermax extension.”
Antetokounmpo, 24, won the league’s MVP award in 2018-19 after averaging 27.7 points.
Meanwhile, sports giant Nike reported a jump in quarterly earnings Tuesday as increased marketing investments paid off with strong pricing of direct-to-consumer offerings and huge growth in China.
The footwear and apparel company, which has beefed up its “Nike Direct” business through smartphone applications and other programs, achieved higher sales in all regions.
Net income for the quarter ending August 31 was $1.4 billion, up 25 percent from the year-ago period thanks to higher gross profit margins.
Revenues climbed seven percent to $10.7 billion
The biggest jump in sales was in China, where revenues rose 22 percent to $1.7 billion compared with the 2018 period.
The company has said previously that it has seen no negative hit to its standing with Chinese consumers from the prolonged US-China trade war.
“Our targeted strategic investments are accelerating Nike’s digital transformation and extending our competitive advantage,” said Chief Financial Officer Andy Campion.
“Even amidst the increasingly volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, we expect our unrelenting focus on better serving the consumer to continue fueling strong, broad-based growth across our global portfolio.”
Shares of Nike surged 5.3 percent to $91.77 in after-hours trading.