The risk here is if Memphis can get their heads on straight as a seasoned veteran is highly needed with this overconfident young group. If Bates can improve the flaws in his offensive arsenal while developing on the defensive side of the ball, putting that with superstar Ja Morant, this can potentially be a very scary threat to other teams in the league. With the recent controversy that has been going on in Memphis, this is a very intriguing but high-risk-reward situation. Rookie Wire (USA Today) : Round 2, pick 50 - Memphis Grizzlies With that being said, Bates’ decision-making on the offensive end with his shot selection could cause some troubles in Denver, which was the same case that drove Bones Hyland elsewhere. The offensive versatility of superstar Nikola Jokic creates a ton of space on the floor for Bates to get a lot of open shots beyond the arc. Out of the three in this list, Denver seems like the most logical fit for Bates, although there are some doubts. Although I do see Bates thriving in a big market franchise, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George being Los Angeles’ core, and the presence of Russell Westbrook and Bones Hyland in that rotation, Los Angeles might not value Bates enough for him to succeed there.īleacher Report : Round 2, pick 42 - Denver Nuggets (via Mavericks) With Bates’ style of play and his need of having the ball in his hands, this is a team that I'm not very high on drafting him. NBA Draft Room : Round 2, pick 48 - Los Angeles Clippers Sam Vecenie of The Athletic ranked his top 100 draft prospects, and Bates ranked at No. Sports Illustrated's NBA draft rankings have Bates ranked at 56 as well out of 60 total players.ĬBS and Bleacher Report's NBA draft rankings had a total of 50 players ranked, but Bates was not listed.Ģ47sports, famous for their high school and college recruiting rankings, composed a list back in March of every NBA prospect playing college basketball as Bates was included on that list. To give a little background, there are a total of 60 picks in the draft, but this year there will be only 58 spots as two teams have lost draft picks. 33 pick in next year’s draft, but was then removed altogether after the arrest.For starters, Bates is currently ranked as the 56th best prospect in the upcoming NBA draft by ESPN. ![]() He averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 38.6% from the field.īates had been projected by in June as the No. Still, after reclassifying and enrolling at Memphis last season, Bates had a disappointing year under coach Penny Hardaway, the former NBA star. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021 and appeared as a 15-year-old on the cover of Sports Illustrated along the headline “Born for This,” with a subhead comparing him to Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James. The dashboard cam also shows the police examining the 9-mm handgun and discussing how the serial numbers had “popped off.”īates borrowed the car from someone else and maintained he was not aware there was a gun in it, Haney said.īates was the No. “We’ll be there soon, OK? Alright, baby,” she adds. No, you’re good, it’s OK,” his mother appeared to say. ![]() ![]() “They caught me with weed, momma, they caught me with weed,” he adds. “I’m in the back of the car, momma, I got caught with a gun,” Bates says in the video. He cried and explained he had been arrested and that there was weed and a gun in the car. “I just left my cousin house, I just smoked weed,” Bates replied.īates was shown calling his mother, Edith, while handcuffed in the back seat. “Here’s the issue, I smell weed coming from this car right now,” the arresting officer told Bates after pulling him over and then realizing he was a basketball star, according to dashboard video obtained by TMZ,
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