Emoni Bates one of the best HS prospects since LeBron, and could be generational star for Cavs

While still a couple years away Emoni Bates is already generating major NBA buzz and being called a generational prospect, and as a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, it’s understandable to look down the road with potential high draft picks that can help turn a rebuilding team around relatively quickly.

As everyone knows the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the early stages of an all-out rebuild, so you can’t help but look forward to future draft prospects.

According to a Grassroots Experts poll, and written by Jeff Borzello of ESPN (subscription required), Emoni Bates tied for the third-best high school prospect since LeBron James.

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The other two he was tied with were Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis (h/t SportsCenter’s Twitter), which says a whole lot about Bates’ability.

You never want to jump to conclusions, because Bates is still young and still has a bunch to prove the next couple years to cement his status as a generational prospect. What Bates is doing is truly unprecedented at this point, and can’t be ignored, though.

You usually don’t hear this kind of NBA buzz about a prospect that is his age, but Bates is especially dominant. At Peach Jam, a tournament in Nike’s Elite Yough Basketball League (EYBL) circuit, Bates was absolutely torching opponents, averaging 32.3 points on 54.5% shooting, 10.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, per D1 Circuit.

He also shot 47% from three-point range there, per D1 Circuit. Again this may seem like unbelievable praise for someone that young, but we can’t ignore what he’s doing and the praise is warranted.

Prospects like Bates are rare

Even recruiting expert Evan Daniels of 247 Sports can’t ignore what he’s seeing from Emoni Bates at this stage. Daniels believes Bates is the best high school freshman he’s ever seen and had this to say about Bates a couple months ago in an AAU game against LeBron James Jr.’s team with LeBron in attendance.

"“Bates was sensational, showing his full scoring arsenal. From breaking down defenders off the dribble to nailing tough pull-up jumpers from mid-range and three to showing exceptional vision and passing ability, Bates did it all. His 43-point, 11-rebound outing was effortless. It was likely just a precursor of what his high school career will look like.With arguably the best player of all time cheering on his son on one end of the court, you couldn’t help but wonder if Bates is the best prospect to come through the high school ranks since LeBron played at Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent St. Mary.”"

Daniels would then highlight some names that you may be more familiar with when it comes to the NBA level, and man, would Bates’ ability be a welcomed addition to the Cleveland Cavaliers, depending on their rebuild progress at that point, but with the lottery rules now, they might even be able to land Bates with a good amount less than the highest odds.

Again, Daniels seems to believe Bates is in the conversation as the best high school prospect since LeBron.

"“Perhaps that’s a lot to put on a 15-year old’s shoulder, but it’s not farfetched. There’s been some terrific freshman since LeBron that went on to stardom. DeAndre [Deandre, rather] Ayton and Marvin Bagley come to mind. OJ Mayo was as dominant a freshman I’ve seen. Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum were phenoms at the same age.Normally I’d be cautious with a player this early, but Bates is that good. The physical gifts mixed with the skill, scoring package, feel and motor make him a special prospect.”"

Again, as Daniels indicated, you don’t want to get too far ahead with a guy still young (Bates is 15), and we should still be cautious, but what he is doing can’t be ignored.

Bates still hasn’t filled out, which is terrifying

We should be cautious with his age and because his body is still filling out, but the 6-foot-8 Bates, who projects as likely a 3 or stretch four down the road, will almost certainly will never step foot on a college campus, as on his current track, he could very well headline the 2022 double draft that NBA teams are reportedly planning for, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel.

What’s even more impressive about Bates, is last week at the Nike Skills Academy, against older and stronger players, Bates, who is still a slim 200 pounds, and again, only 15, held his own, which fully puts a stamp on his hype, according to Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated.

"“He faced arguably the stiffest test of his fledgling career last week at the Nike Skills Academy in Thousand Oaks. Bates was the youngest player and only rising sophomore in attendance at the prestigious camp, which brings together the most promising prospects from the sneaker giant’s youth circuit and throws them into drills and scrimmages for NBA scouts to evaluate and pick apart. After playing in his own 15-under age group all summer, Bates held his own in a key proving ground against older players and stronger bodies, though not without some ups and downs. And while you can hedge and qualify everything while trying to guess at the future, it’s now impossible to deny the fact that Bates is on the way.”"

It’s pretty remarkable that Bates is holding his own against kids that are bigger and stronger than he is. Just imagine once his body fills out more, and he’s able to put some more muscle on that frame, what he’ll be able to do.

We’re still in the early stages of this and Bates still has a long way to go if he wants to become the highly-touted prospect that LeBron was coming out of St. Vincent St. Mary high school or Kevin Durant was coming out of Texas, as some believe he could be, but Bates is on his way to headlining what NBA teams believe could be a “generational draft” in 2022.

Again, though, he appears to have the makings of a generational star.

It would take luck, but Bates could be a generational star for the Cavs

The Cavs’ rebuild should be much further along at that point, but as we’ve often mentioned here at KJG, the new lottery odds open things up for the middle (teams six through 10), as we saw this past lottery with the New Orleans Pelicans winning the number one pick with only a 6.0% chance of winning, and pre-lottery, teams that were at the seven, eight, and 11 spots and all jumped into the top four of the 2019 NBA Draft.

I don’t believe teams will necessarily stop tanking, because I still believe teams will always play the percentages and 14.0% (as the Cavaliers had in 2019) is still better than the other positions to win the top pick.

So, again the Cavs’ rebuild should be further along and if they’re say, in the bottom of the middle, they are a team that could jump up and potentially get a generational piece if Bates stays on the track he’s on.