Adam Silver explained the NBA's reason for fining Magic Johnson $50,000 for tampering with his seemingly innocuous comments about Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

"Context is everything, and there had been a prior issue with the Lakers early this season," Silver said on The Jump. "And the message is -- not just to Magic but to all the executives in the league is -- stop talking about players on other teams."

Silver admitted it is a balancing act for former greats like Johnson to talk about players when they are also serving in front office roles.

"We'd love to hear players like Magic Johnson talk about how great young players are in the league," Silver said. "But there's enough commentary out there. And I think, when on balance, just asking them to refrain from that one aspect of talking about other players, isn't that big a deal."

Silver said "we love having all these legends involved in the game."

"But the other teams seem to be able to follow those rules, and this is, don't talk about players on other teams," Silver added. "I mean incidentally, we could change that rule, but I don't think it's a good idea."