Ben Simmons & The Lakers Are Under Investigation

An NBA spokesman told ESPN on Monday that, "The league office is looking into whether any contact took place between Ben Simmons and the Los Angeles Lakers that violated NBA rules."

Amid this NBA investigation, the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers - Elton Brand - told ESPN that Simmons, their star guard, has no intention of working with the Lakers. 

"No issue," Brand said. "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 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. Again, we're not sweating this -- end of story."

The Lakers issued a statement on the matter Monday.

"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," it read. "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."

Johnson told reporters on Sunday in Philadelphia, "[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."