Bryan Colangelo Talks Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and More in B/R Exclusive

Philadelphia 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo has heard the rumors that Ben Simmons’ camp wants him to be a Los Angeles Laker. He’s not buying it.

“Some people like to poison the well,” Colangelo said Sunday on SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio’s NBA Sunday Tip. “We’ve got good relationships with the agent [Rich Paul] and with the family because Brett Brown has known Ben Simmons’ father for years.”

Nick DePaula of The Vertical reported Simmons’ camp was hoping he’d land with the Lakers because they offered the best chance at endorsement money. The LSU forward has also had a longstanding love of the franchise, which included a Snapchat video where he told a fan to “catch me on the Lakers next year.”

Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia refuted the report, saying Simmons’ camp has “no problem” with Philadelphia’s market size. (Philadelphia ranked as the fifth-most populated city in the United States in the 2012 Census.)

Regardless, Colangelo, who took over as Sixers president of basketball operations and GM in April, is undeterred. He used the word “flexibility” multiple times throughout the interview, both praising it for the freedom it allows and highlighting it as a curse. “The Process,” Colangelo said, has left the team with a treasure trove of assets but without a player to build around.

“We’ve got good young, developing players, but we don’t have a star where we can say a bona fide star has made it,” Colangelo said. “We are still looking for that first one—if that comes in the form of the first pick in this draft, if that comes in the form of a player we acquire via trade or free …

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