NBA notebook: Bucks' co-owner fined over Davis comments

Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry has been fined $25,000 for his recent remarks about Anthony Davis, ESPN's Malika Andrews reported Monday. Lasry's recent comments about the New Orleans Pelicans' star, who requested a trade from the Pelicans prior to the trading deadline, violated NBA tampering rules. There were reports that the Bucks, who enter play Monday with the league's best record at 41-14, were among four teams that Davis would consider joining on a long-term deal, and Lasry was asked about the report when the Bucks were in New York to play the Brooklyn Nets. "I saw that report, and I think it's great," Lasry told Sporting News. "It's a little bit of what we want. We want players to come and play in Milwaukee. And part of it is, when you're winning and you're setting a standard for excellence, people see that. People want to win. --Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons wanted to sit down with Magic Johnson to discuss being a big point guard in the NBA, but Sixers general manager Elton Brand said he nixed that idea. And although Brand said he considers the case closed, the NBA is investigating. "The league office is looking into whether any contact took place between Ben Simmons and the Los Angeles Lakers that violated NBA rules," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Johnson, the Lakers team president, said Sunday that Simmons had contacted him about potentially meeting in the offseason. Johnson told reporters they could not talk "if everybody doesn't sign off." --Guard Jeremy Lin and the Atlanta Hawks are finalizing a buyout of his contract, and he then expects to sign with the Toronto Raptors, according to an ESPN report. Agents Jim Tanner and Roger Montgomery told ESPN that Lin, who is earning $12.5 million in his first season with the Hawks, could be with the Raptors by the middle of the week. Lin, 30, became a household name in 2012, when a short but prolific run with the New York Knicks sparked what became known as "Linsanity." But since then, he has played for Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte, and Brooklyn before arriving in Atlanta in the offseason. --Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet is sidelined with a partial ligament injury to his left thumb, the team announced. VanVleet, who turns 25 on Feb. 25, is expected to wear a splint for approximately three weeks and his condition will then be updated. The team said he injured himself during the second quarter of the Raptors' 104-99 victory on Saturday at the New York Knicks. In 51 games this season (22 starts), VanVleet is averaging 10.5 points, 4.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game. He has scored in double figures 30 times over the season, including a career-high 30 points in a 119-101 road win over Atlanta on Feb. 7. --Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right knee, the team announced. Hart will be re-evaluated after the All-Star Break. Hart, in his second season out of Villanova, is averaging 8.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists, starting 21 of his 54 games played. He has missed two of the past three games, including Sunday's 143-120 loss at Philadelphia, because of patella tendinitis. Hart has four double-doubles this season, including three in a 15-day span in January. His absence further thins a backcourt that is missing guard Lonzo Ball because of a sprained left ankle. --The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Nik Stauskas, the team announced, in what has been a whirlwind week for the 25-year-old, a former lottery pick. Stauskas was acquired by the Cavaliers last weekend from Portland, one of the players sent to Cleveland in the Rodney Hood deal. The Cavaliers then sent him to Houston as part of a three-team trade, and the Rockets shipped him to the Indiana Pacers before the NBA trading deadline last Thursday. On Friday, Stauskas, a Michigan product, who was selected No. 8 overall by Sacramento in the 2014 NBA Draft, was waived by the Pacers. --Field Level Media