LOS ANGELES _ Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson raised some eyebrows on Sunday when he said that the Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons had reached out to the Lakers to request a meeting with Johnson to talk basketball.
That request is drawing scrutiny from the NBA league office.
"The league office is looking into whether any contact took place between Ben Simmons and the Los Angeles Lakers that violated NBA rules," league spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
The request, which happened weeks ago, was met with caution.
"He reached out to me, not to me directly, to the Lakers, to find out if we could get together this summer," Johnson said. "I said, 'Hey, you'd have to clear it with the league. Everybody. The Sixers sign off. We sign off. The league signs off that nothing (inappropriate) is going on.
"He wants to know how to play the position as a big guard, da, da, da, da, da da," Johnson said. "It's fine. I will do that. But if everybody doesn't sign off, then we can't get together."
The Lakers released a statement Monday to clarify the 76ers reached out to them:
"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. 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 written pre-approval. That was the end of the matter."
Brand was asked about the situation during a radio show in Philadelphia.
"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."
A person familiar with the phone call disputed that characterization, saying Allen Lumpkin, the 76ers' director of basketball administration, called the Lakers to request that meeting for Simmons. Among Lumpkin's responsibilities is player development.
Pelinka called Brand to tell him about the request and that it made the Lakers uncomfortable, the person said.
Another person familiar with Simmons' thinking, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the 6-foot-10 point guard simply wanted tips from Johnson, who was about the same size as a point guard. Simmons will be a Sixer for a long time, the person said.
Though both sources said the issue as overblown, the Lakers' run-ins with the NBA's anti-tampering rules have given the story legs.
The Lakers were fined $500,000 two years ago for tampering with Paul George while he was under contract with the Indiana Pacers. The league found conversations between Pelinka and Aaron Mintz, George's agent, to be in violation of the rules.
Not long after that, Johnson made some complimentary comments about Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo to a reporter. To send a message, the NBA fined the Lakers $50,000.
In December, LeBron James told a reporter that it would be "amazing" if the Lakers traded for New Orleans' Anthony Davis. The league released a statement reiterating its position that players talking about playing with members of other teams is not generally considered tampering. The Pelicans disagreed.
"It's tampering, OK?" Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said at the time. "It's tampering."
No further action was taken by either side.
