Mercury (Hobart)

James gets his guy Ben

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LEBRON James has dropped an expletive on US TV after missing out on adding Ben Simmons to his All-Star team — but the NBA great managed to pull off a late trade to grab the young Australian.

“You took my choice!” James laughed during a televised All-Star selection show after opposing captain Giannis Antetokoun­mpo selected Simmons with his seventh pick.

James and Antetokoun­mpo, the top vote getters for the February 17 game in Charlotte, North Carolina, took turns selecting their teams from the pool of remaining 22 All-Stars.

Antetokoun­mpo selected Curry, Joel Embiid, Paul George and Kemba Walker to start alongside him. James chose Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. James and Simmons are represente­d by the same management company and James has been a mentor to the Australian.

James, however, had a chance to grab Simmons (pictured above right) early but went with Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson with his first two non-starting picks. That’s when Antetokoun­mpo jumped in. “With my third pick I’m going to go with LeBron’s guy Ben Simmons,” Antetokoun­mpo said. “You took my guy,” laughed James, who had his expletive deleted. James convinced Antetokoun­mpo to a trade to get Simmons.

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