NBA Investigating Ben Simmons And Lakers, Magic Johnson Explains Guard's Request

The NBA league office is investigating the Los Angeles Lakers and Ben Simmons over any potential contact that violated NBA rules, which would amount to tampering, after it became apparent the Philadelphia 76ers point guard was keen to pick the brain of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, the current president of basketball operations for the Lakers.

The Lakers legend revealed Sunday that Simmons had gotten in touch with the Lakers to see if they could “get together in the summer” but was clear that all communication was made only after informing the reigning Rookie of the Year about the clearance required from the league office.

"[Simmons] reached out to me, not to me directly; to the Lakers to find out if we can get together this summer. I said, 'Hey, you've got to clear that with the league,' and if everybody -- the Sixers sign off, we sign off, the league signs off -- fine, I will do that. ... But I love his game. I love his vision. I love also, too, he's very, in terms of basketball IQ, very high basketball IQ,” Johnson said, as quoted on ESPN.

76ers general manager Elton Brand immediately shot down any hope of the player having a one-on-one session with Johnson and later revealed Simmons had simply requested to speak to some of the all-time greats in order to improve his game. He Brand was also certain the point guard would be part of the franchise for the foreseeable future.

"No issue," Brand said Monday. "I have a great relationship with Ben and [his agent] Rich [Paul] and we expect him to be a Sixer for a long time. He has taken interest in chatting with some of the game's all-time greats and we're supportive.”

"I had a brief dialogue with [Lakers GM] Rob Pelinka, who I've known for a long time, but nothing is planned. Our collective focus is on making a postseason push,” he added. "Again, we're not sweating this -- end of story."

But despite both the Lakers and 76ers clearly releasing statements that both sides were aware of Simmons desire to speak with Johnson, the NBA league office has confirmed it was looking into the matter to ensure no rules were violated by both parties.

"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 ESPN.

The Lakers, who have been fined in 2017 and 2018 for violating NBA’s anti-tampering rules, were keen to distance themselves from the matter and released a statement Monday detailing the entire episode that began in November.

"To clarify, last November the 76ers sent an email to the Lakers asking if Ben Simmons would be able to speak with Magic Johnson about his Hall of Fame playing career,” Lakers said via a statement. "After receiving the email request from the 76ers, Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka contacted 76ers General Manager Elton Brand and informed him that Magic could only do so if the 76ers gave him pre-written approval. That was the end of the matter."