Ben Simmons Wants to Train With Magic Johnson This Summer

Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons put in a request to receive mentorship from Magic Johnson during the offseason.

Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers’ president of basketball ops, would be happy to work with Simmons once Philly’s front-office and the NBA “sign off.”

The 22-year-old is lookig for “big guard” tutelage.

Per Philly.com:

“He reached out to me, not to me directly, to the Lakers, to find out if we can get together this summer,” said Johnson, who the Lakers drafted with the first overall pick in 1979. “I said, ‘Hey, you’d have to clear it with the league. Everybody. The Sixers sign off. We sign off. The league sign off that nothing is going on.

“But he wants to know how to play the position as a big guard, da, da, da, da, da da. It’s fine. I will do that.”

But Johnson, the three-time league MVP and 12-time All-Star, is a big fan of Simmons’ game. He garnered his first All-Star selection last month. The 2018 rookie of the year averages 16.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.3 steals. He has eight triple-doubles.

“Trying to learn from somebody like that would be huge. Getting speak to him – he’s had to play the 5 and win a championship – and he’s in the Hall of Fame,” Simmons said. “In terms of what position, I’m in, a 6-10 point guard, I think it would help.”

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