It was 10 a.m. on a typical warm May morning, and Jerry Colangelo cruised down North Central Avenue in his all-black Mercedes-Benz with tinted windows.

Their proud Italian-American roots are similar to what a typical inner-city guy from Philly would appreciate.

Grotewold wrote:Moar Colangelo fanboy fic from Pompey

It was 10 a.m. on a typical warm May morning, and Jerry Colangelo cruised down North Central Avenue in his all-black Mercedes-Benz with tinted windows.

Their proud Italian-American roots are similar to what a typical inner-city guy from Philly would appreciate.

He's listening to faint music by Frank Sinatra on the Siriusly Sinatra SiriusXM Radio channel.

A few months before he passed away at the age of 84 in 1999, DiMaggio told Colangelo that he was proud of him.

Their proud Italian-American roots are similar to what a typical affluent guy from South Jersey would appreciate.

Grotewold wrote:I mean, is there seriously no one at the Inquirer asking Pompey why he's writing all of this and/or to maybe tone it down a bit?

The Dude wrote:y not philly

The Dude wrote:ah. still plenty of guys in track suits on 9th st though

Cataldi put the matter to Brown with his typical bluntness, asking Brown: "Do you have concerns about his attitude?"

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.

Obviously, there have to be safeguards to prevent teams from trying to manipulate things to their advantage.

First-round picks still would receive the guaranteed contracts they presently have, and playing in the D-League would still count as a year on their NBA contract.

I would expand the draft to three rounds but limit second- and third-round contracts to two years and then make those players restricted free agents.

This would simultaneously protect prospects from being stashed on D-League teams for several seasons but also give teams the security that they won't invest time and money in development only to have another team swoop in and snatch away their work.

Two years should be enough for a team to decide if it wants to match an offer made to one of its developing players.

I would eliminate the one-year-after-graduating-class requirement as a concession to the NBA Players Association but stipulate that any player who declares for the draft and is selected in the first round but then does not sign with the team that picked him must wait two NBA seasons before becoming draft-eligible again.