Trae Young

Trae Young had a breakout 2019-20 season, but the Atlanta Hawks star wants to be thought of as more than a player who only puts up a lot of impressive stats.

Speaking to USA Today's Mark Medina, Young expressed frustration at being known as a scorer when a friend of his pulled up YouTube clips from his highlights this season:

"That's all cool and all. But I couldn't even watch it. It's so frustrating for me. I hate the narrative of just being a scorer and a stats person. Stats don't mean anything. I don't want that narrative to be I'm all about stats because I'm not. For me, stats is the last thing I'm bringing up. I'm all about winning."

The Hawks weren't among the 22 teams invited to the NBA campus at the Walt Disney Resort for the season restart after posting a 20-47 record when play was suspended in March. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers had a worse record (19-46) in the Eastern Conference. 

Young was a bright spot for the franchise and was named to the All-Star team in his second season. The 22-year-old had an excellent offensive season, ranking second in assists (9.3 per game), fourth in scoring (29.6 points) and shot 36.1 percent from three-point range. 

Per ESPN's Kirk Goldsberry, the Hawks defense was a major problem when Young didn't make his three-point attempts:

"Young misses 64% of his 3s, and opponents grab defensive boards on about 75% of those misses. On the ensuing possessions, as those defenses turn into offenses, they rack up a wild 127 points per 100 possessions, according to Second Spectrum tracking data. Folks, the league average offensive efficiency following a missed 3 is 112."

Defense is a significant problem for Young. ESPN's defensive real plus-minus ranked him as the worst defender in the NBA with a rating of -6.17 out of 520 players. The next closest player was Isaiah Thomas at --4.83. 

Young has already proven himself capable of putting up big counting stats, but he has to improve his all-around game if the Hawks are going to compete for a playoff spot next season. 

Twelve days after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, Harrison Barnes stepped onto a podium, gripped a cordless microphone, gazed across a sea of thousands and made a gentle plea.

"Our job as protesters is important for our democracy," the Sacramento Kings veteran told the crowd at a rally near California's capitol building, before adding, "But if all we do is show up here to protest and don't follow through with voting, we're not gonna see the change that we want to see."

For Barnes, 28, it was an empowering moment. And a new role.

He had been outspoken on police brutality and racial justice. He had attended protests like this before, including one in 2018 after Sacramento police killed an unarmed Black man, 22-year-old Stephon Clark. But now Barnes was the one with the microphone and the message.

A movement was coalescing in the wake of Floyd's death, and here was Barnes, standing alongside former Kings Bobby Jackson and Matt Barnes (no relation), channeling a community's anguish and rage.

"It's people demanding justice," Barnes told B/R. "It's people sick and tired of being sick and tired."

Across the country, the scene repeated, one NBA player after another taking to the streets—marching, chanting, leading, demanding justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people killed by police.

In Compton, it was DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook. In Atlanta, Jaylen Brown and Malcolm Brogdon. In Oakland, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney. In Portland, Damian Lillard. In Philadelphia, Kyle Lowry and Tobias Harris. In Washington, Bradley Beal and John Wall. In Norman, Oklahoma, Trae Young.

"I'm not used to doing this," the 21-year-old Young said, a little tentatively, as he addressed a rally last month in his hometown. "... This country is in a messed-up place right now. I just think it's important that we all stick together, and we stand up for what's right."

Trae Young’s speech at the Norman rally. pic.twitter.com/yNcLgdz32R

— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) June 1, 2020

The world's greatest basketball players did not set out to become social justice activists. But circumstances practically demanded it. As young Black men, they knew all too well the challenges their communities faced. So players across the spectrum—from All-Stars and rising stars to third-stringers—stepped to the front lines.

There has never been a moment quite like this.

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, legends of another era, once risked their careers fighting for civil rights. Occasionally, a lone NBA voice has taken a public stand for social justice (Craig Hodges) or against a war (Steve Nash). Yet their battles were mostly solitary and unwelcome—shunned by league officials, and by many fans.

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30 teams, 30 days: The biggest story from each NBA team ahead of the league's return.

Atl | Bos | Bkn | Cha | Chi | Cle
Dal | Den | Det | GS | Hou | Ind
LAC | LAL | Mem | Mia | Mil | Min
NO | NY | OKC | Orl | Phi | Pho
Por | Sac | SA | Tor | Uta | Was

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But the "shut up and dribble" era is over.

Today's players are emboldened by each other's voices, by a commissioner who overtly supports their activism—and by the NBA legend who still walks and dribbles among them and who declared, unequivocally, he was more than an athlete.

LeBron James did not birth this modern NBA movement, but he fostered it, nurtured it and created a safe space for his peers by speaking out: on Trayvon Martin in 2012 and Eric Garner in 2014, with a speech at the ESPYs in 2016 and with a pointed barb at President Donald Trump in 2017.

"When you have the main person in the sport speaking out, it tells everyone else that they don't have to be afraid and can speak out, too," said Etan Thomas, a former NBA player, activist and author of the book We Matter: Athletes and Activism. Seeing James take a stand, he said, sends a powerful message to every other player: "I can do it as well."

"That's why him doing that is so important," Thomas said, "because he's inspiring so many guys."

James will soon resume his pursuit of a fourth championship, at the NBA's "bubble" campus near Orlando, Florida. His Los Angeles Lakers are among the favorites to win it all.

Whether James claims the trophy or not, this year might already be the most impactful of his long and storied career.

Last month, he joined other athletes and entertainers in launching More Than a Vote, a nonprofit aimed at registering voters and combating voter suppression, especially in Black communities, ahead of the November election.

"I'm inspired by the likes of Muhammad Ali," James told the New York Times after announcing the initiative. "I'm inspired by the Bill Russells and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbars, the Oscar Robertsons—those guys who stood when the times were even way worse than they are today."

Now it is James who is doing the inspiring. An entire generation has grown up watching him dominate the NBA, while witnessing the steady growth of player activism he's championed.

"We will definitely not shut up and dribble," James declared in February 2018, responding to a tirade from Fox News' Laura Ingraham. "... I mean too much to society, too much to the youth, too much to so many kids who feel like they don't have a way out."

That exchange was sparked by James' rebuke of Trump, who he said "really don't give a fuck about the people"—one of several times James has criticized the president (who, in turn, has repeatedly disparaged James). The prior year, James had famously referred to Trump as "U bum" in a Twitter post about the Golden State Warriors' decision not to visit the White House.

Amid the controversy, James made a simple declaration—"I am more than an athlete"— posting a photo of that phrase in neon, which hangs on a wall at Uninterrupted, the athlete-focused media company he launched with his business partner Maverick Carter in 2014.

That same year, James effectively called for the ousting of Donald Sterling, then the Los Angeles Clippers' owner, following the revelation that Sterling made racist remarks on tape.

By then, James had already trampled whatever imaginary barriers separated sports and politics.

The first step came in 2012, when he and his Miami Heat teammates posed for a photo in which every player wore a hoodie—in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black teenager who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman while walking through a gated community in Sanford, Florida. Martin, who had been visiting someone who lived in the neighborhood with his father, was wearing a hoodie at the time.

That photo, conceived by James and Dwyane Wade, made the Heat "the most prominent collection of Black athletes to protest" Martin's killing, ESPN's Jemele Hill wrote in 2012. Soon after, the National Basketball Players Association issued a statement calling for Zimmerman's arrest.

Barnes was a 19-year-old sophomore at North Carolina when Martin was killed, and he remembers thinking, "That could have easily been any one of us."

"And I think when that picture came out, it was powerful," Barnes said. "History remembers that as a great moment. In that time, there was tons of criticism associated with that. ... That should be a lesson for people who are out and about now, that if there is criticism, history will remember it differently."

It was a striking gesture at the time—a drastic departure from the studied neutrality so often practiced by pro athletes who feared alienating fans or sponsors or league officials. It soon became the new normal.

In 2014, James spoke out about the deaths of 18-year-old Mike Brown (killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri) and 43-year-old Eric Garner (killed by police in Staten Island, New York).

James also joined several other players in wearing T-shirts that read, "I can't breathe"—the phrase repeatedly uttered by Garner as police put him in a chokehold that led to his death. (Derrick Rose, then with the Chicago Bulls, was the first NBA player to wear the shirt, at a game two days earlier.)

At the 2016 ESPYs, James and his three closest friends—Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony—gave a joint speech denouncing racial profiling and police violence, and urging other athletes to get involved as well.

It all has a profound effect, said Harry Edwards, a sports sociologist and civil rights activist who advised Olympic athletes-turned-civil rights icons Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1960s and has consulted for the Warriors and San Francisco 49ers.

"Anytime that you get the highest-profile, consensus best player in the game taking a stand and making a statement," Edwards said, "it's going to accrue a certain level of legitimacy that encourages people of less standing, of less courage, to at least speak up. That is absolutely the case."

Still, Edwards added, "It is not just that the man creates the moment—but the moment and all of its dynamics helped to create the man."

In this case, the rise in NBA player activism has tracked with the public's rising awareness of police brutality and a growing embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement. Fifty-three percent of registered voters said they supported the movement in early June, in the wake of Floyd's death, up from 36 percent in 2017, per Civiqs.

Between 15 million and 26 million people say they took part in Black Lives Matter protests after Floyd's death, making it the largest movement in U.S. history, according to the New York Times.

So when today's players demand racial justice, they are more likely to find a sympathetic audience than their predecessors, Edwards noted.

"When you realize that sport inevitably recapitulates society, and when you have a broad-scale movement in the society that comes in through the locker room door, or over the stadium wall, that has to be responded to," Edwards said. "You can't just brush it off."

The risks were much greater for players like Russell and Abdul-Jabbar, or in a later era, Hodges and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. So while Barnes praises James for doing "incredible" work today, he also credits their predecessors, who "were criticized heavily, blackballed, faced ... heavy amounts of racism, in order to get us to the point where the league is an open platform for activism."

It helps, too, that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is now openly encouraging such engagement, easing any concern a player might otherwise have about his job security. That wasn't always the case under prior commissioners, even the civic-minded David Stern.

Hodges, who played from 1982 to 1992, and Abdul-Rauf, who played in the NBA from 1990 to 1998 and in 2000-01, both believe their careers ended prematurely because they took unpopular stances: Hodges advocated for racial justice during a White House visit with President George H.W. Bush as a member of the Bulls, and Abdul-Rauf refused to stand for the national anthem on moral and religious grounds.

This was the age of Michael Jordan, who once famously declared, "Republicans buy sneakers, too"—which effectively captures the ethos of the era.

"David Stern was all about marketing," Thomas said. "He didn't want anybody to upset or affect the bottom line. ... There's a reason why MJ was so quiet. There's a reason why what happened with Craig Hodges happened, why Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf happened."

Thomas added: "Listen, if MJ back in the day would have been outspoken, you would see a whole lot more players during that day outspoken as well. And now that you have LeBron outspoken ... of course it sets a tone. There's no doubt."

Sixteen years ago, Thomas felt the backlash as a 26-year-old center for the Washington Wizards. He had declared his staunch opposition to the Iraq war—a stance that some called anti-American.

"I had a lot of people that were very angry with me," Thomas said, referring to fans and media. "It was kind of like, 'How dare you?' Like, 'Who is this ungrateful athlete who has the nerve to even speak on this topic?'"

A league official soon reached out with a friendly admonition: Be careful. It was not a threat, Thomas said, but a note of concern—perhaps for his safety, perhaps for business reasons. The league then was hypersensitive to alienating fans and corporate sponsors.

"And I remember, David Stern got really upset about it," Thomas said.

Now, when the NBA season restarts July 30, the courts will all have "Black Lives Matter" painted on the sidelines. Players will have the option to use certain social justice messages on their jerseys in place of their names. The entire three-month bubble season will have activism baked in.

"Adam Silver is different," Thomas said.

James, speaking to reporters Saturday, said he looks forward to using the NBA's platform to "continue to push the envelope and let people know that we are human as well."

For younger players, a politically engaged NBA is the only NBA they've known.

Young, the Hawks' rising star, was 13 years old when the Heat stood up for Martin and 15 years old when Silver became commissioner.

More than half of the players who appeared in NBA games this season were 25 or younger (as of Feb. 1, per Basketball Reference).

In the Age of LeBron, speaking out is as second nature as dribbling a ball. Political activism is the norm. And demanding racial justice, a necessity.

"At the end of the day, you're a person before you're a basketball player," Barnes said. "There are beliefs that you have that you should feel comfortable to stand on. There's no job in the world that's more important than being able to stand for what you believe in."

         

Howard Beck, a senior writer for Bleacher Report, has been covering the NBA full-time since 1997, including seven years on the Lakers beat for the Los Angeles Daily News and nine years as a staff writer for the New York Times. His coverage was honored by APSE in 2016 and 2017, and by the Professional Basketball Writers Association in 2018.

Beck also hosts the podcast The Full 48, available on iTunes.

Follow him on Twitter, @HowardBeck.

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Senior writer Michael Lee from The Athletic returns to The Full 48 with Howard Beck to discuss concerns surrounding the NBA bubble, player activism and LeBron James' 2020 impact on and off the court in 2020. Plus, they delve into Giannis’ future, a possible Pelicans playoff run, the propensity for a Sixers bust and more.

The Atlanta Hawks won't take part in the NBA season restart, but their future still looks very promising thanks to a young nucleus built around dynamic point guard Trae Young, versatile forward John Collins and ace shooter Kevin Huerter. 

Having just finished his second season after being selected No. 18 overall in 2018, Huerter averaged a career-high 12.2 points and shot 38 percent from three-point range on six attempts per game.

Huerter took time from his schedule to participate in a B/R AMA that saw him answer questions about his career, teammates, the best player in NBA history and much more. 

The following is the full transcript from the AMA session.   

@roothly: What's it like living in Atlanta during all that's happening with Black Lives Matter? Have you had conversations with Coach Pierce, who's been very vocal?

As a team, we've tried to be very involved and Lloyd has spearheaded that. The coaches association had created this board that was going to try to do more in the community and lead different things throughout the NBA and he's doing a lot of that with our own city. He's gotten a lot of us players involved and has been very vocal about that. Trying to get us involved in the community before all of this went down. Being in Atlanta, I've said it before, it's a very proud black city. I realized that when I first got drafted, literally in the first couple of days meeting people around the city and listening to a lot of different people talk. I feel like I've learned a lot just from being here. In terms of all the negatives that come with this with the riots and the looting there were really only two bad nights in Atlanta. There's been a lot of peaceful protests where people are trying to make real change. For me not being from a place like Atlanta, I'm just trying to learn as much as I can and be involved with as much as I can.

@Not_CarsonWentz: What is it like playing with Trae Young?

It's a lot of fun. It's electric. Obviously our record doesn't indicate that, but the excitement he plays with and the things he can do with the ball and the way he can control the crowd...our games are a lot of fun in Atlanta. He draws so much attention and can do anything on the floor offensively. Excited to grow with him and get better.

@JDubs: What was it like playing with Vince Carter?

That's a very long answer to a short question. It was similar to d-wade, surreal to get to play with him. First time I remember sitting in the locker room and he walked in, and he said what's up like it was a normal Saturday afternoon. For me I was like omg, it's Vince carter...he really was the OG, father figure that the young guys could have questions for.

 

@Coco9: Who is the NBA GOAT?

After watching the last dance, it's tough to dispute Jordan. I always thought it was LeBron. So I'm saying 1A, 1B it's Jordan and LeBron.

 

@Not_RudyGobert: What is your opinion on the potential 2nd bubble for teams that didn't qualify?

My biggest opinion on that is I just want the opportunity to be able to play. For us, being left out and being a basketball player, that's all you want to do, is play basketball...they have to figure out a way to let us play something.

@SportFanBeast: Who is the best shooter of all time?

Steph Curry. He's gonna shatter every single NBA record...he's the first guy you'd say you have to guard inside of half court.

 

@Jasper_Pail: Who do you think will win the Finals this year?

Probably taking the lakers. I think a lakers-bucks finals is the two I'd pick, and I'll take the lakers to end up winning.

 

@BleedGreen_99: If you could play with one player past or present who would it be and why?

I think my true favorite player growing up was LeBron, so I'd say him.

@gomiamimarlins: What was your welcome to the NBA moment?

We were playing at Golden State, and this is when Kevin Durant was playing for them. So I'm guarding Durant. He has the ball inside halfcourt so I'm trying to pressure him. He loses the ball and it goes out to halfcourt. So in my mind I'm thinking like “Oh, I'm doing alright.” So I go out to halfcourt and still try to pressure him and then he takes a three-dribble hesi pullup where I'm right on him, pulls up right inside the 3-pt line and just knocks down the easiest two. Like back rim straight down. And he's backpedaling on defense and he just yells out “Welcome to the league, rook.” And I'm just like, I don't know what to do. He came up to me after the game and said something and that was it. Because I didn't know him at all before that.

 

@Herb42: What was it like when D-Wade wanted to trade jerseys with you?

That was surreal. Growing up he was one of the first NBA guys that I watched, loved his number 3 and how he played the game. He was somebody that was a big role model for me. To get a chance to play against him was extremely cool...it was a moment I'll never forget. I was walking off the court not expecting it, and right when I saw him I knew what was happening, but it wasn't like I was expecting it.

 

@BewnieSandas: If you could dunk on one player who would it be?

Bruno Fernando on our own team just so I can talk smack to him.

 

@Not_KellyOubre: Favorite pair of shoes?

The first pair of shoes I was excited about was d-wade had these converse shoes, my brother and I got them as presents at the same time. We had the white ones with the red slits in them. 

 

@SportFanBeast: What is your favorite movie?

Big Will Ferrell fan, so my favorite is either Step Brothers or Semi-Pro.

@Stephen_A_Smith: What's your favorite nickname that you've been given?

They went with red mamba in college which I liked. Red velvet I'm also cool with. It's definitely different.

 

@ArkansasBoys: What's your all-time Maryland starting 5?

Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Len Bias, Joe Smith, Greivis Vásquez

 

@sseckel12: Who was your basketball idol growing up?

Lebron. D-wade was another one. 

 

@Jdubs24: Funniest locker room moment?

When we were at Maryland, the whole running man saga and our two teammates would always dance to any song and it'd become this thing after practice. We'd be hanging out in the locker room for an hour just dancing and whatever. It was a lot of fun.

 

@tfichs19: Chick-fil-A or Popeyes?

chick-fil-a

 

@thatguy827: What do you think is an underrated part of your game?

Playmaking ability

 

@JetsOk: What video games do you play right now?

Currently on Call of Duty.

 

@treyden: What do you do for shooting drills?

I shoot a lot. That's the short answer. I start close to the basket and slowly do different drills to keep moving back. Everything is competition shooting, everything has a reason, you hold yourself accountable for misses.

 

@lemonayde: Why is your jersey number #3?

Allen Iverson and d-wade. For some reason I liked the #3. It's the number I wore on my first basketball and baseball teams. I never went away from that growing up and when I got to Maryland, I wanted to be #3 but Juan Dixon wore 3 when they won the natty.

 

@KevinHuerterFan: What's your 8th favorite color?

Let's go with pink.

Universal AMA Questions

What is your favorite game or play of your career?

Probably when I was at Maryland we beat Georgetown at Georgetown...we came back, were down six, and ended up winning a crazy game against a rival.

 

Go-to pre-game song or soundtrack?

Before games I listen to a lot of Drake, I like listening to stuff I know all the words to.

 

How far do you think the moon is from Earth?

I don't even know where to begin. I feel like any number I say is going to be so off. Let's go with 50 million miles.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs shook not just the NFL but also the sports world Monday by announcing their 10-year, $450 million partnership, the richest deal in North American sports history, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Mahomes will be under contract through 2031, five years longer than any other athlete in the NFL. And yet, no other player is more deserving. He is an MVP and a Super Bowl champion, and he's already leaving his mark on the NFL record book.

But this got us thinking. Who in the NBA would be worthy of such an earth-shattering, maximum-level investment? Who can we expect to have a long career and to perform at an All-NBA level over the next decade?

Below are the names that came to mind. Hit the Bleacher Report app to share your list.

   

Zion Williamson

The 2019 No. 1 overall pick is an obvious candidate. At just 20 years old, Zion Williamson is the second player in NBA history to collect 23 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 55 percent—Shaquille O'Neal is the other.

But Zion isn't just a stat-stuffer. His impact was decisive, as he makes the Pelicans 12.2 points better per 100 possessions. He has taken center stage with force, regularly attacking some of the most renowned bigs in the game in Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. And he still has plenty of room to grow.

Williamson's jump shot and handle are a work in progress, as is his recognition on the defensive side. In fact, he registered in just the 23rd percentile in rim deterrence and just the 52nd percentile in rim contests per 75 possessions, according to BBall Index.

Despite all this, the Pelicans rank in the 95th percentile on defense with Williamson on floor, holding opponents to just 103.9 points per 100 possessions.

Plus, he has made the Pelicans an international brand. From nationally televised games to deals with Mercedes, Nike, Gatorade and nearly a dozen others, Williamson has brought attention to a city that's lost two franchise icons to Los Angeles in the past 10 years.

His long-term health is a concern given the knee injury that kept him from debuting until late January and his 6'6", 284-pound size, but that is the only thing that could prevent Zion from being the next face of the NBA. But based on what we've seen so far, it'd be well worth the risk.

—Preston Ellis

   

Jayson Tatum

Relative youth is a prerequisite for any hypothetical 10-year contract. Jayson Tatum, 22, checks that box. A decadelong pact would take him through his early-30s, aligning quite nicely with his prime.

This is more so a question of whether that prime is worth being tethered to from start to almost finish. And it is.

So few players are as comfortable generating offensive looks out of nothing. Tatum's escape-dribble three has become one of the league's deadliest weapons on the more glamorous end, and he's recently reached the rim enough that his game no longer feels like it stalls before the basket. And while his defensive role isn't the most exhaustive, he provides help at an All-NBA level.

Tatum's next frontier is playmaking. Can he have that Kevin Durant-like awakening? We can't be sure. It feels like he can. He's shown the capacity to make more complicated passes.

Even if he never makes a significant leap as a facilitator, his game stands to age far better than those of Giannis Antetokounmpo or Zion Williamson. He spent a good chunk of his rookie and sophomore seasons gorging on assisted threes and buckets in transition. If his star at all burns out over the next decade, there's a layer of plug-and-play to him that many of his peers just don't have.

—Dan Favale

   

Trae Young

In 2013, LeBron James called Allen Iverson "pound for pound, the greatest player ever."

While Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has about an inch and 15 pounds on the former Philadelphia 76ers All-Star, four-time scoring champion and 2000-01 Most Valuable Player, Young is a modern-day Iverson.

Already an All-Star in his second year, the 21-year old just needs a little more experience and a better roster around him. Young can power an offense by himself, especially impressive for a 6'1" guard who weighs in at 180 pounds. It took a handful of years before the Sixers found the right balance of defenders and complementary scorers around Iverson to advance to the 2000-01 Finals.

At a minimum, such an investment in Young would give the Atlanta Hawks their marquee name for the next decade and a chance to beat any team on a given night. With some wise roster moves, Atlanta and Young could be a perennial playoff contender in the Eastern Conference through the 2020s.

—Eric Pincus

   

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Whenever you're handing out a long-term contract, there's some worry the last few years will be dead weight. You want to pick a player who's old enough to have proved what he can be but young enough that a 10-year contract won't take him into the range when most players retire.

Giannis Antetokounmpo fits squarely into this time frame. At 25 years old, he is the reigning MVP and highly likely to win the award a second year in a row. That's the same age LeBron James was in summer 2010, after which he won two more MVPs and made eight straight Finals.

Giannis is not only arguably the best player in the world today, but he's also shown a consistent willingness and motivation to get better. That won't go away as he hits his physical peak over the next five years, and his playmaking ability will allow him to age gracefully much in the same way James has.

I'll take that bet every time.

—Sean Highkin

   

Ja Morant

A 10-year contract for Memphis Grizzlies phenom Ja Morant may not be long enough, as he'd be only 30 years old when it expires.

Running away with the Rookie of the Year award, Morant is already leading the surprisingly good Memphis Grizzlies in scoring (17.6 points per game) and assists (6.9) while posting an efficiency rating rarely produced by young guards. Before Morant this season, the only guards in history to average at least 17 points on 49 percent shooting or better before turning 21 were Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.

Morant has the athleticism of a young Russell Westbrook and is able to break down opponents on the wing before driving into the paint and dunking on those foolish enough to try to block his shot. During the hiatus, he added 12 pounds of muscle on what was a 174-pound frame, making Morant better able to absorb contact.

There are plenty of young talented guards in the league, but few have made as big an impact on winning as Morant. While Memphis was thought to be one of the NBA's worst teams after it traded Mike Conley last offseason, Morant has the Grizzlies in eighth place in the loaded Western Conference. This is especially impressive considering they have the youngest roster in the NBA but zero players with All-Star experience.

At age 20, Morant already combines the talent, leadership and athleticism teams crave and would gladly pay for with a 10-year (or longer) contract.

—Greg Swartz

   

Luka Doncic

The term "generational talent" sells Luka Doncic short.

Here is a list of players 21 years old and younger who have averaged 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a season with a true shooting percentage above 58: Luka Doncic.

That's it.

He's one and only. And when you expand that list to players of all ages, he and Oscar Robertson still stand alone.

More importantly, he's already having a massive impact on winning. His plus-4.4 on/off rating split (83rd percentile) suggests he is already making a good team better when he's on the floor, and through 67 games this year, the Mavericks have the best offensive rating of all time with Doncic serving as a lead ball-handler and offensive focal point.

Despite being only 21, Doncic is viewed as a finished product—a polished player without room for upside. While his game is mature, he has plenty of time to improve his shooting, pull-up shooting, defense and reads over the next five seasons.

Doncic is the kind of player who will have a 10-plus-year prime. His game is predicated on touch, feel and IQ rather than supreme athleticism. He's already perfected that old-man game, and it will carry him well into his 30s.

He has multiple MVPs, championships and Finals MVPs in his future and is on track to be one of the greatest players in history.

I'd give him a 20-year deal if I could.

—Will Gottlieb

More Than a Vote, a nonprofit founded by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, is advocating for NBA areas and other large sports venues to be turned into mega polling sites ahead of the November general election, according to the Associated Press' Bill Barrow. 

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times reported the group will "partly be aimed at inspiring African-Americans to register and to cast a ballot in November." Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, Phoenix Mercury star Skylar Diggins-Smith and former NBA star Jalen Rose are among those also involved with the organization.

"Yes, we want you to go out and vote, but we're also going to give you the tutorial," James said of the effort. "We're going to give you the background of how to vote and what they're trying to do, the other side, to stop you from voting."

The Atlanta Hawks announced on Monday they will convert State Farm Arena into a polling location when early voting begins July 20 for the Aug. 11 primary runoff election. It will also be used for the November general election.

Starting on July 20, State Farm Arena will become Georgia's largest-ever voting precinct.

We are proud to partner with Fulton County to give all registered Fulton County residents the ability to vote early at our home.

Read more: https://t.co/03QIocUqtf pic.twitter.com/9zApOToQUH

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 29, 2020

On Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons announced a similar step with their training facility.

Learn more: https://t.co/Z9HSB58np9 pic.twitter.com/WNzc7VgfEx

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) July 1, 2020

Beyond allowing for potentially more people to vote at a time, transitioning to larger polling stations will allow for voters to maintain social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"One of our greatest challenges in protecting voters' access to democracy this November is identifying accessible locations where citizens can safely vote in person," said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, per Barrow.

The CNN Center in Atlanta sits on Marietta Street in the center of tourist attractions, restaurants and sports venues. Centennial Olympic Park is just a few feet away. The World of Coca-Cola museum, State Farm Arena, the College Football Hall of Fame and the SkyView Ferris wheel are close by. On a typical day, this area is buzzing with energy and serves as a stop where you can get a taste of Atlanta all in one bite.

On May 29, however, downtown Atlanta became a destination for the unheard, following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Activists called for justice and an end to the murder of Black people in a country wracked by systemic racism for centuries.

Two men stood on top of the CNN sign in front of the studio building. One holding a Black Lives Matter flag and another carrying the flag of Mexico. A police car was in the middle of the street in flames. Windows at CNN and the nearby Omni Hotel were smashed and vandalized. Graffiti littered the sides of the building. Protesters yelled, pushed and pleaded with police as they were closed off from continuing their march. Tensions rose as officers in riot gear, shields, helmets and driving Humvees locked down the area, confining the protesters to an area in front of the CNN Center. Tear gas was released on the protesters and batons were drawn.

A riot to some—rebellion to others.

The scene, from one point of view, may have been too easily dismissed as mayhem. But for those with a sense of context, the demonstrations that night were a portrait of catharsis, a response to how the promise of America has failed them. "This is a moment where people are feeling a lot of stuff right now and are fed up," Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said that night.

Atlanta has long been considered a haven for Black culture. In the last few weeks, it has also become a place to process Black pain. When Atlantans see Taylor and Floyd, they see themselves, they see a cousin, a sister—they see family. Then they see, on their own soil, Rayshard Brooks die at the hands of police in a Wendy's parking lot.

Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce understands the frustrations. Since Floyd's death, he has become one of the leading voices in the NBA on racial injustice, joining a new committee of coaches to bring attention to the issue and pursue solutions within NBA cities in the wake of these tragedies.

---

30 teams, 30 days: The biggest story from each NBA team ahead of the league's return.

Atl | Bos | Bkn | Cha | Chi | Cle
Dal | Den | Det | GS | Hou | Ind
LAC | LAL | Mem | Mia | Mil | Min
NO | NY | OKC | Orl | Phi | Pho
Por | Sac | SA | Tor | Uta | Was

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"For me, this isn't new," Pierce said during a discussion with reporters along with team CEO Steve Koonin (via Fox Sports South). "I've been Black for 44 years. This feeling of outrage, it isn't new. I think what's new is that it's on TV, and it's on TV when a lot of people can't leave or move."

Atlanta is the proverbial capital of the South. Its heart. The capital of Black America. A place where Black culture is felt the moment you arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. There are few, if any, places in this country where Black people feel comfortable and accepted. Atlanta, with its flaws and all, offers a home.

It's no surprise the city, historically, has been an important terminal when social protests sweep the nation. A place where homegrown talent rises up, shares their feelings and mobilizes to fuel the momentum of the moment.

Pierce and his Hawks have leaned in to this movement, using their public profiles to lend, or find, their voices and become comfortable with addressing the uncomfortable.

Hired in 2018, Pierce and his staff have spoken with their players about recent events, including discussing their Black skin color and what comes along with it—that they have different protocols to abide by when they interact with police.

Hawks All-Star point guard Trae Young protested in his hometown of Norman, Oklahoma, days after the city that has adopted him demanded justice just a few steps from the arena he plays in.

"I know that I'm not just a basketball player; I'm a role model," Young told reporters recently. "I'm bigger than what I just do with a basketball. I know when it's times like this I need to speak up and speak up for what's right."

Kevin Huerter, the Hawks' lone white player, had never been to Atlanta before the team drafted him two years ago. As he watched the protests unfold, and later stood on a stage with his teammates, coach and members of the Georgia NAACP to address the need for reform in the criminal, voting and policing systems, it dawned on him that this is still "just another city" dealing with the harms of systemic racism regardless of its strong Black ecosystem.

"Standing up on that stage as a white man is a little bit embarrassing," Huerter told Bleacher Report. "Because you know that we have made a lot of things very hard for the Black community and a lot of other communities. I can't say the same for everyone across the country that is white, that [they] really know what people are fighting for and understand the injustices that exist."

---

The ATL is no stranger to protest. From the four-day Summerhill rebellion in 1966, when protesters responded to the police shooting of a Black man named Harold Prather, to July 8, 2016, when 2,000 protesters stood face-to-face with Atlanta PD on an Interstate 75 ramp in response to the police killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, the city has long been a staging ground for social justice.

The city has welcomed many Black mayors, Black police chiefs and Black business owners. According to Atlanta.com, there are 60,000 Black-owned businesses in Atlanta and more than twice that many in the metro area.

Still, it isn't exempt from the systemic struggles that Black Americans face, regardless of marketing slogans like "The City Too Busy to Hate" or "The Black Mecca." Disparities in health, economics, justice and voting access are all as prevalent today as they were decades ago.

In 2015, a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that the 22 percent Black unemployment rate in Atlanta is more than three times higher than that of white people (6 percent). The same report found that 80 percent of Atlanta's Black children live in communities with high concentrations of poverty, compared to 6 percent of their white peers.

Three years later, Bloomberg published an analysis that found that Atlanta ranked worst in income inequality among large cities in the United States.

And while Atlanta may be home to a population that is 51.8 percent Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2019, many of those residents would be quick to note this city is not a "post-racial" utopia.

Indeed, many in the state have long fought to ban citizens' arrests and institute a hate-crime law, the latter of which Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed Friday to go into effect Wednesday, though some fear a pending bill that adds protections for first responders could compromise the new legislation.

And then there are the monuments and statues that honor the Confederacy. A 2019 Georgia law deemed that if such monuments are to be moved, they must be relocated to a "site of similar prominence, honor, visibility and access," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While some, including President Donald Trump, have argued the monuments are a part of the state's history, each also stands as a slap to the face of Black humanity, a reminder of the enslavement Black people faced in Atlanta until the end of the Civil War and still feel the sting of today in more subtle ways in their daily lives.

City councilman Antonio Brown, who in 2019 was elected as the youngest city councilman in Atlanta's history, has lived here for eight years and in that time has come to the conclusion that what Atlanta is differs from what it appears to be.

"You have an establishment that has been in leadership for decades that has protected the interest of this narrative," said Brown, who represents District 3, an area with the low-income Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods in addition to the much more affluent Atlantic Station and its multimillion-dollar developments. "They protected this narrative that Atlanta is the city too busy to hate. Atlanta is a city that cares about its Black and Brown communities. ... I've heard that nonstop in this city. But when you really dig into what has truly transpired underneath that narrative and underneath the establishment that is propelling this narrative, you begin to realize no, that is actually not true. Not only is it not true, but we have to make some serious changes, and we have to address some broader issues, especially around systemic injustices that have created the environments and conditions that have kept our Black and Brown communities oppressed."

Pierce recognizes the two Atlantas well. Given his job title, and his recognizability, he's treated with a respect he feels he wouldn't enjoy were he not the Hawks' head coach. Simply remove that title, and he'd be vulnerable and exposed to the same harms as every other Black individual.

"I say this all the time: I wear my Hawks shirt," Pierce said. "It's my uniform. It's my only access to privilege here in Atlanta because people know that I am the head coach here in Atlanta."

That division, in a city with a rich history of activism, is a big reason why Atlanta has become a hub from which to respond to the latest examples of systemic racism in the country, no matter where they occur. Atlanta rapper and activist Killer Mike spoke out with tears in his eyes during a press conference the night of the late-May demonstration: "It is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy. ... I'm mad as hell. I woke up wanting to see the world burn down yesterday because I'm tired of seeing Black men die."

There lies the conundrum that rears its head during times like these. What is the "appropriate" way of protesting? There may be no right answer. But there are a lot of different strategies. And sometimes it's a matter of speaking your mind, taking action.

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown knew the feeling and didn't allow distance to stand in his way. On May 29, Brown, who is from Marietta (a town 20 miles northwest of Atlanta), drove 15 hours from Boston and organized a demonstration of his own.

"Meet at MLK memorial site 530-630 assembly time," Brown tweeted before being joined by rapper Lil Yachty, Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon and Brooklyn Nets guard Justin Anderson. Before the start of the protest, Brown addressed the crowd on the same grounds where Martin Luther King Jr. lies buried:

"Everything that we see and experience and are feeling is something from decades, centuries, ages ago. So as a 23-year-old from this generation, some people from other generations are gonna have to bear with us. Because from what we've seen since social media has hit—from Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, all the way up until George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner—that's all we've seen. That's all we've seen throughout our generation, throughout our youth. Coming from kids, coming from social media era, all we've seen is people get killed on TV, on camera. So, I don't want people to confuse the response of the oppressed with the violence of the oppressor. I get young people looting. Understand I'm not necessarily saying that's the right thing to do, but our energy, our voices need to be heard in some way, shape or form."

As the Georgia heat bore down on the crowd, Brown glided through the streets he calls home. He walked side by side with protesters, shouting for justice through a megaphone while holding a white sign with black letters that read "I CAN'T BREATHE." He believes his status and popularity don't relieve him from the duties of activism. As he said recently, he identifies just as much as an activist as he identifies as an NBA player.

Brown's march eventually reached the Georgia State Capitol in downtown Atlanta, where Brogdon addressed the turnout. With Anderson's hand draped on his right shoulder and Yachty standing to his right, Brogdon shared that his grandfather, who walked with Martin Luther King Jr. and led sit-ins, would be proud of their protest. Brogdon wanted listeners to bask in the moment.

"We built this city," Brogdon said. "This is the most proudly Black city in the world. In the world, man. Let's take some pride in that. Let's focus our energy. Let's enjoy this together. This is a moment we have leveraged right now. We have a moment in time. People are going to look back, our kids are going to look back at this and say, 'You were a part of that.'"

---

A week later, Atlanta rapper Lil Baby also decided he couldn't remain silent. In a Black Lives Matters shirt, black joggers and a face mask that read "No Justice, No Peace," the 25-year-old, alongside councilman Brown, led protesters down Mitchell Street, passing by a few pro-Black pieces of graffiti artwork.

Antonio Brown later revealed in an Instagram post that during the march Baby whispered to him, "This is what matters!" an acknowledgement alluding to the responsibilities that lay on the shoulders of Black artists.

https://twitter.com/AntonioisMuted/status/1269595545179471873

Another week later, Lil Baby dropped a song with a video called "The Bigger Picture" about police brutality through his eyes.

The same day as the release of the song, June 12, Atlanta cop Garrett Rolfe shot and killed the 27-year-old Brooks in the parking lot of a Wendy's drive-thru on the southwest side of the city. Police officer Devin Brosnan was also on the scene, and the district attorney says Brosnan stood or stepped on Brooks' shoulder after Brooks was shot.

It was only 13 days after Atlanta PD officers used Tasers and excessive force on two college students. (Six officers were later charged for their involvement.) Less than four months after Arbery was killed. Three months after Taylor was killed. Three weeks after Floyd was killed.

Brooks' cousin, Decatur Redd, stood in front of reporters wearing a gray-white tank top and a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap the following day. He began simply by saying "Rayshard Brooks," amplifying his cousin's name so it won't be forgotten.

"I got two little boys," Redd said. "They'll see the same video. That's their cousin. That's where it hurts so much. I thought Atlanta was higher than that. I thought we was bigger than that. I just want to make enough noise that they investigate the situation. Don't let Rayshard die in vain like that."

Atlanta responded with plenty of noise. That night, protesters brought signs, smashed glass, threw fireworks inside the Wendy's and blocked a nearby highway. The exhaustion of a community forced to mourn the repeated murders of Black people by those who ostensibly are meant to protect them was clear. When police finally were able to remove the blockade of protesters, the officers immediately built a barrier between protesters and the defaced restaurant. A crowd of more than 100 people faced them, and a Black woman could be heard screaming "We matter!" at officers.

Both officers involved in Brooks' killing turned themselves in five days later. Rolfe is facing felony murder and 10 other charges. Brosnan is facing an aggravated assault charge. But you won't hear much rejoicing. There isn't time; there's too much work to do.

Atlanta Dream guard Renee Montgomery decided she wanted to be a part of that effort. So she followed the lead of Maya Moore and will sit out the WNBA season to dedicate her time to working for racial justice initiatives. "For me and how I function, I know that I'm an all-in type of person, so I'm all in for social reform," Montgomery told Bleacher Report.

She was attracted to Atlanta over the course of her first two seasons in the league. So much so that she purchased a home there and left a championship team in Minnesota to be in Atlanta. She says she moved for the reason "a lot of [Black] people come to Atlanta: because they know they will be welcomed and they know they'll feel at home."

In a letter published in the Players' Tribune, Montgomery recounted growing up in Saint Albans, West Virginia, surrounded by people who didn't look like her. "It wasn't really 'til I got to Atlanta ... that I was surrounded by people who looked like me," she wrote. "... A lot of the business owners here are Black business owners, Black female business owners. And I mean at a high level."

Still, Montgomery sees this time as a chance to "create momentum" in the social justice movement.

Montgomery isn't new to the kind of work she has ahead. She was part of the 2016 Minnesota Lynx team that was fined $5,000 as an organization (as well as $500 per player) by the WNBA for wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts in warm-ups, which resulted in four off-duty cops who provided arena security walking off the job. She never envisioned herself making a decision of this magnitude, but to her, the significance of this moment must be met with significant action.

"Not a chance Renee from February 2020 [would] have even thought about it," Montgomery said. "That's how those eight minutes and 46 seconds changed the world."

   

Eric Yeboah is a producer at Bleacher Report.

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has parted ways with Octagon and followed agent Omar Wilkes to Klutch Sports. 

I’m just getting started... It’s just different❄️ #KLUTCH pic.twitter.com/q03wrf22jx

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) June 26, 2020

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports first reported Young was considering Klutch Sports for his new agency.

Wilkes left Octagon this week to take over Klutch's basketball division. Founder Rich Paul, who previously headed the basketball department, is planning to focus on his role as CEO and continue his work expanding the agency's football and baseball business.

Wilkes has represented Young since he declared for the 2018 NBA draft. Young has emerged as one of the best young guards in basketball, earning his first All-Star berth this season and averaging 29.6 points and 9.3 assists per game.

It's unclear if any of Wilkes' other clients will follow him to Klutch. Potential No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards, Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby and Young's Hawks teammate Cam Reddish were among Wilkes' clients at Octagon.

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young is reportedly undecided on his representation.  

Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reports Young is considering leaving Octagon Sports following news on Wednesday that his agent, Omar Wilkes, is joining Klutch Sports Group as the company's new head of basketball.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported Wilkes' move to the agency led by LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul. Paul will now expand his role as CEO with Wilkes overseeing its basketball division. Before joining Klutch, Wilkes already represented Cam Reddish, OG Anunoby and likely 2020 lottery pick Anthony Edwards.

Young has already become one of the NBA's individual must-see acts. The second-year point guard averaged 29.6 points, 9.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds during the 2019-20 season, earning his first All-Star nod in the process.

That would make him a desirable client for any agent should he decide to find new services, yet there may be enough upside at Klutch to remain with Wilkes.

Not only does the sports superpower boast an NBA roster featuring James, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Draymond Green, John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, but their NFL stable is quickly filling up with the likes of Alvin Kamara, Chase Young, Jeff Okudah and Jarvis Landry.

That type of clout may be hard to walk away from. 

Also in Klutch's favor is the fact that on June 10, Young joined James, Jalen Rose, Skylar Diggins-Smith and others in forming More Than a Vote, an organization that works to fight voter suppression and increase voter turnout and the number of registered voters in the African American community. 

In speaking to Jonathan Martin of the New York Times once the organization was announced, Young said he hopes to use the stage to become a role model among his peers. 

"If people my age see that I'm going out and I'm voting and I'm talking," Young said, "maybe the next 21-year-old will."

Whether or not those ties are enough to keep Young with Wilkes remains to be seen. 

Agent Omar Wilkes, who represents Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards, reportedly has agreed to join Klutch Sports as the company's new head of basketball. 

Adrian Wojnarowski reported the move will allow Rich Paul to expand his CEO role to focus on Klutch's efforts expanding into NFL and MLB representation.

Paul founded Klutch Sports in 2012, and the company has emerged as one of the most powerful agencies in basketball. The agency counts LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Ben Simmons, along with several other All-Stars, as clients and has been at the forefront of pushing player empowerment.

Klutch began ramping up its efforts in other sports over the last year. Damarious Bilbo came over to head Klutch's football division in January, bringing with him Jarvis Landry and Alvin Kamara, among others. Klutch also signed Ohio State's Chase Young and Jeff Okudah, who went Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, in April's NFL draft.

The baseball arm faced a setback last month when Alex Bregman parted ways with Klutch agent Brodie Scofield, who came over when Klutch acquired Tidal Sports. Klutch's MLB clients currently include Marcus Stroman and Tim Anderson. 

Though nothing is quite set in stone, we finally have a tentative date for the 2020 NBA draft. Under the league's revised schedule, the annual selection process is set to take place on October 15 at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn.

This means that we're roughly four months away from learning which player will be the first pick in 2020. Right now, that's a complete unknown, as there is not a consensus top prospect in this draft class. Much will hinge on the draft lottery, which is tentatively scheduled for August 25. Individual team preferences will likely determine the selection order at the top of Round 1. 

While it's impossible to know exactly which prospects teams have their sights set on, expert mock drafts are a good way to gauge the direction a prospect's stock is headed.

Here, we'll do exactly that by digging into recent mocks from CBS Sports' Kyle Boone, Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo and a joint mock from NBC Sports' Rob Dauster and Pro Basketball Talk's Kurt Helin.

Let's check out the latest trends.

      

Anthony Edwards a Lock for the Top Three?

Georgia shooting guard Anthony Edwards might not be a completely polished prospect, but his upside and defensive prowess have teams interested in taking him early.

According to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Edwards is the preferred prospect of the Golden State Warriors, should they win the draft lottery:

"Sources have indicated to The Chronicle that if the Warriors land the No. 1 pick and decide not to trade down, they'll likely take Georgia guard Anthony Edwards. If Golden State lands anywhere between Nos. 2 and No. 5, they'll strongly consider Iowa State's Tyrese Haliburton, Auburn's Isaac Okoro and Israel's Deni Avdija, among others."

In Boone's mock, the Warriors do indeed end up with the top pick and Edwards. Woo also has Edwards going No. 1 overall, though to the Atlanta Hawks. Woo points to the idea of Edwards staying in Georgia and pairing with budding superstar Trae Young.

"The local aspect here is gravy, and the potential of a Young-Edwards backcourt might be tough to walk away from," Woo wrote. "Playing off of a passer like Young would be an ideal early-career situation for Edwards."

Dauster and Helin have the Warriors taking Memphis center James Wiseman with the top pick. They do, however, have Edwards going second overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While Edwards might not be the preferred prospect for every team, his draft stock seems to be rising enough to make him a borderline lock to be a lottery pick.

     

What About the Warriors and Wiseman?

Wiseman may also be a likely lottery pick—at least, if the Warriors are indeed interested in him. Like Dauster and Helin, Woo has Golden State taking the Memphis big man, though at No. 2.

"If they keep the pick and Edwards is off the board, Wiseman becomes a viable option here, given he plays a position of dire need and at least has the elite physical profile to fit in and help in some capacity right away," Woo wrote. 

According to Letourneau, though, Golden State is not interested in either Wiseman or NBL point guard LaMelo Ball.

"I think they'd only take one of those two if they were trading down in the draft and taking them for another team," a source told Letourneau.

If Edwards is off the board before Golden State makes its pick, there's a strong chance that the Warriors push to trade out of that spot. According to Letourneau, they're higher on Iowa State's Tyrese Haliburton than Ball when it comes to point guards.

   

Ball Isn't a Lottery Lock

While Ball might not be the top point guard on Golden State's board, this doesn't necessarily mean that his stock is falling. That's one team's reported opinion, and it is likely based on scheme fit. Plenty of franchises will be happy to add Ball to their rosters.

Of the three mocks here, only the one by Dauster and Helin has Ball falling outside the top four. Boone and Woo have him going second and third, respectively.

Dauster and Helin have him landing with the Detroit Pistons at five and said that there is reason for teams to be cautious about Lonzo's younger brother:

"He has a reputation, fairly or unfairly, of being a lazy defender with a lacking work ethic. Teams picking at the top of the draft will have to do their due diligence. He may have a high ceiling, but there's also some bust potential at play. If it all works out, he could end up being the second-coming of Luka Doncic."

Some teams may determine that the potential baggage outweighs Ball's upside. It's possible that enough of them do to keep him out of the lottery range—though it's highly unlikely that he falls much farther than that.