Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been fined $50,000 (£38,300) by the NBA under anti-tampering rules for remarks about Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker.
During an appearance as an analyst on TNT on Friday, Green, 30, suggested Booker should leave Phoenix.
NBA rules prevent teams or players attempting to persuade other players to leave their contracted team.
“It’s not good for him, it’s not good for his career,” said Green of Booker.
“They gotta get Book out of Phoenix. I need my man to go somewhere where he can play great basketball all the time and win, because he’s that type of player.”
When asked by TNT host Ernie Johnson if his comments were tampering, Green said: “Maybe.”
At the start of the season the NBA said it would more strictly enforce its anti-tampering rules.
The Suns have won all five of their games since the NBA season restarted in Orlando in July and are now 10th in the Western Conference.
They are two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the eighth and final play-off spot, with three games left to play.
Booker, 23, is Phoenix’s highest scorer with 26.4 points per game this season and is under contract there until the end of the 2023-24 season after signing a five-year extension in 2018.
The Warriors, who have won three of the past five NBA titles, were already eliminated from play-off contention before the restart after an injury-hit season.