NBA Finds No Tampering Violations Between Lakers, Ben Simmons
The NBA ruled that it found no tampering violation between the Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons and the Los Angeles Lakers, the league announced.
Last weekend, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson told reporters that he was interested in speaking with Simmons to share "big guard" secrets. Johnson said that Simmons reached out to him through the Lakers and asked if the two coulud met over the summer, adding that "if everybody doesn't sign off we can't get together."
On Monday, Sixers general manager Elton Brand squashed the idea of a potential meeting between Simmons and Johnson during a radio interview with 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Brand said that Los Angeles general manager Rob Pelinka lobbed the idea of setting up a potential Johnson-Simmons meeting.
"Rob Pelinka called me and said that Ben wanted to talk to Hall of Famers after the season, Magic was on the list," Brand said. "He asked for authorization, I said no. This was over a month ago."
Brand reportedly called Johnson to apologize on Monday afternoon "for insinuating that the Lakers had called—unprompted" to set up a meeting with Simmons and Johnson, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
The Lakers avoided notching a third fine for tampering during Johnson's tenure. Los Angeles was previously fined $500,000 for tampering with Paul George in 2017, and last year was fined $50,000 for tampering with Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.
