Elton Brand Shut Down All This Ben Simmons-Magic Johnson Talk
By Bobby Burack
Marc Stein reported yesterday Ben Simmons wanted to sit down with Magic Johnson, president of basketball operations for the Lakers, this summer. Johnson said the NBA, Lakers, and 76ers would have to sign off on it.
Simmons is not going to get his wish, however, because Elton Brand has already said no:
"Rob Pelinka called me and said that Ben (Simmons) wanted to talk to Hall of Famers after the season, Magic was on the list. He asked for authorization... I said no. This was over a month ago." - Elton Brand shooting down the Ben/Magic meeting ?????
— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) February 11, 2019
It is no surprise that Brand rejected the idea after Johnson made this public, which was a safe but questionable choice. With the way the NBA is going, any meeting could easily be looked at now as a recruiting tool.
Perhaps, Simmons just wanted to learn from the greatest point guard of all-time whose game mirrored his. But we also know Simmons loves the limelight that Los Angeles could provide him even more of. This past summer, Jason McIntyre explained why Simmons could force is his way to the Lakers.