The NBA announced on Monday that it was conducting an investigation into potential tampering between the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons.
The whole thing seemed to take on a life of its own after Lakers president Magic Johnson offered to mentor Simmons. The Sixers’ brass didn’t take too kindly to that.
While the NBA concluded on Tuesday that the Lakers did nothing wrong, Simmons was out here joking about the entire thing ahead of his team’s game against Boston.
Ben Simmons walked into the locker room, sat down and said, "That's like the 10th time Magic has called me today."
After pausing for a second, he clarified that he was, of course, joking.
— Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) February 13, 2019
We’re glad Simmons added that he was joking. No one needed to see this entire thing drag on longer than it had to. Obviously, the Lakers meant no ill will towards Philadelphia. Johnson was just trying to help a youngster who crafts his game after the Hall of Famer.
Regardless, we give Simmons a ton of credit for having a sense of humor about it.