Home-grown contenders, not assembled super teams, inspire NBA’s next generation

When the NBA’s next generation of superstars stepped back and surveyed the league during the All-Star break, what did they see?

They saw the Grizzlies as the surprise story of the season, sitting third in the West at 41-19 led by a young core Memphis drafted and developed: Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane (among others). It’s a similar story in Cleveland with the 35-23 Cavaliers. They followed that same draft-and-develop model with Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Evan Mobley, and then a young Jarrett Allen was added. Minnesota is another story along the same lines, sitting at 31-28, the Timberwolves look like a playoff team behind a home-grown core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and bringing in a young D'Angelo Russell.

The Phoenix Suns are the NBA’s best team, a roster built around a young core they drafted and developed — Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne, Cameron Johnson — with just one big free agent move to bring it all together (Chris Paul).

All of those teams are doing better than the spotlight-grabbing assembled super teams in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. The Lakers have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, while the Nets are stacked with Kevin Durant (out injured) and Kyrie Irving, plus swapped James Harden for Ben Simmons — and those “powerhouses” appear headed for the play-in tournament.

The NBA’s young stars noticed — and they are looking to follow a different playbook than the last generation of superstars.

“Those are examples of rebuilds that were successful. That’s what we’re trying to be with the Pistons,” last year’s No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham said of the Grizzlies, Cavaliers and others. “Seeing teams like that, how they done it, how they play —