Brett Brown dismisses worries about Ben Simmons conspiracy theories

There's been a lot said about that relationship in the last few months. Indeed, you can go all the way back to last November, when Matt Breen wrote a long piece about it. Keith Pompey got into the subject again a few weeks ago.

I don't. And I think when you look at somebody being on the stage, coming from overseas and then being slapped on to the United States stage; and having the blanket of everybody having an opinion, and scrutiny, and media assessments; and then, the LSU program, you know, didn't win, and he didn't do some things - I don't.

I think it's part of being 19, 20 years old. I know how he kicks. I know his family. And from a competitive standpoint and a growth perspective, we all get it. They're just teenagers. I think the foundation of his character and the foundation of his family, he's been raised well. He comes from strong values. I don't worry about those sort of conspiracy theories that at times surround Ben.

If there are any doubts left that Simmons is likely coming to Philadelphia, Brown dropped a huge hint about what might happen on Thursday. Here's what Brown said when Cataldi asked him if Brown's close ties to Simmons' family are an advantage for the 76ers:

I think it has to be. How can it not be? You can't make up the history that I have had with their family. Then you fast-forward it to 2016, and connecting the dots to end up here is very unusual...

He's in a position to be selected first, and we're in a position where the ping-pong ball fell our way, and we have an opportunity to choose him. [With] knowledge of his background, his coaches, people that were around him, his family, I feel like how can that not be an advantage, and in many ways a great advantage.

You can listen to the full interview here.