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Brooklyn, N.Y. • The Philadelphia 76ers made Ben Simmons the first overall pick on Thursday. Then the 6-10 Aussie star made Utah's Dante Exum one of his top targets for his rookie season.

Exum and fellow Boomer Joe Ingles have been in Australia this week as part of Basketball Without Borders. The Jazz point guard jokingly told reporters there that he hoped the talented 19-year-old Simmons would go second overall to the Los Angeles Lakers so that they could face off more often during the season.

Simmons was asked about that during his draft night press conference.

"Yesterday in Melbourne, Dante Exum said that he can't wait to match up on you when you start playing in the league. Who's the Australian you most want to match up on?" a reporter asked.

Simmons reply: "Dante. I'm definitely going at him when we play."

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Just a quick reminder that you're getting old.

After being picked second overall, Duke forward Brandon Ingram was asked for his "fondest memory of the Lakers."

"How far do you go back?" the reporter said. "And what do you think about Kobe Bryant."

"Well, I was born in 1997, so it couldn't be too far, but probably Kobe's last championship," Ingram replied. "My impression of Kobe is just his drive. Everyone talks about how he works out, his work ethic, and that's something that I eventually want to get to, of course, and just want to talk with him and try to learn what he did to try to be what he is today."

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New Orleans Pelicans rookie Buddy Hield got asked if his name had "anything to do with the movie 'Elf' or Will Ferrell," which is kind remarkable and somehow his answer was even better than I'd hoped.

"My mom, you can talk to my mom. She's by the table. But she gave me — back in the day she used to watch "Married with Children" with Bud Bundy, and she named me Bud. She said, no, we can't name him Bud because there's somebody down the street named Bud, and I didn't like the person. So they added the Buddy to it. So it was a cool story. She knows the whole story, though."

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New Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray isn't worried about playing in the Mile High city.

"Never been to Denver other than a connecting flight," he said. "But no, I have very good breathing. I know how to control it. I know what to do when I lack air. I think I'll fit perfectly. I'll just get better, even my meditation with that."

At Kentucky, Murray apparently used coach John Calipari's office to mediate in before games.

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Jakob Poeltl's parents were both volleyball players in Austria. And as the first round dragged on Thursday night, the parents of the newest Toronto Raptor got in a little bit of practice.

Poeltl said Thursday that his parents tried to convince him to dedicate himself to the sport in his younger years.

"I actually started playing basketball when I was six years old, and I never really played volleyball. I obviously played it with my parents like in my free time from time to time, but I was always set on basketball," he said. "That was my love. That was my sport, and they actually tried a couple times to get me over to volleyball, but there was no chance."

Seems he made the right decision.

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There's been some growing speculation about forward Thon Maker's age. An even wider range of numbers? Maker's position in the various mock drafts leading up to Thursday.

In the end, the Milwaukee Bucks stunned many experts by taking Maker with the 10th overall pick. The forward was not even among the green room invitees and had to walk down from the stands at Barclays Center to be introduced.

"When I walked past most of the guys in the green room, some of the guys looked at me sideways," Maker said. "Some of the guys I already knew from high school, so we were like friends. So they were happy and some guys gave me dap. And other guys were like, it should be them. I don't know, if I were in that situation, I would have been like, congrats, you know, you've made a step. Now go make a name for yourself. Yeah."

Maker, who grew up in Australia, was asked if he would get some advice from former Buck and Runnin' Ute Andrew Bogut about living in Milwaukee.

"Yeah, that will be cool," Maker laughed. "That will be cool."

Bogut will probably tell him that it will be very cold, too.

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Taurean Prince wore a Utah Jazz hat as he made the rounds through Barclays Center.

"Oh, man, not only just playing for the Jazz but just blessed for the opportunity at hand and everything I've been through in my life has helped me get to where I am now," he said at one press conference. "Like everyone says, it doesn't stop here, but for me it really doesn't. It's just another milestone, and plenty more to reach."

For Prince, the journey certainly does not stop there. The Baylor forward will be traded to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-way deal that will bring George Hill to Utah.

Prince told reporters he had a hint the Hawks might be interested in him during the pre-draft process.

"Man, those guys are great, straightforward, which I love. No gray, it's black and white type of guys, and those are the type of guys you need to be behind you, that's going to tell you when you're wrong and let you know when you're right. I love those guys up there, man. They brought me up for a second workout so I knew that they were really interested and we were vibing the whole entire time, and I enjoyed every single minute in Atlanta."

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There will be some intriguing names at the Jazz summer league in early July. The 76ers grabbed Simmons and added some interesting international talent in Timothe Luwawu and Furkan Korkmaz. The Spurs pick of Dejounte Murray late in the first round could turn out to be a steal too. Luwawu was a green room invitee who slipped a little. After he landed in Philly, he put some of the teams that passed on him on notice.

"Oh, we're going to see during the summer leagues," he said. "That's it. That's what I want to see."

— Aaron Falk