It's time for the NBA and its teams to start plotting concrete actions for change

NBA players are a part of the Black Lives Matter. Teams and the league made supportive statements, and need to turn that into action.

Good morning.

NBA players are visible everywhere right now. Giannis Antetokounmpo joined some of his teammates in protest in Milwaukee, speaking to a crowd briefly about wanting to protect his son from experiencing racism.

Stephen Watson @WISN_Watson

“I want my kid to grow up in Milwaukee and not to be scared to walk in the streets.” -@Giannis_An34

Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan marched with Kendrick Lamar in Compton. Pretty much the entire starting lineup and most of the front office of the Kings showed up to a Black Lives Matter rally in Sacramento. It looks like Steph Curry marched in the Bay Area for the second time this week on Saturday. The Warriors’ Juan Toscano Anderson is leading marches in the Bay Area. Tobias Harris was also out again, this time with Kyle Lowry. (Harris wrote a great piece for The Players’ Tribune last week, as well.)

And there are many, many other NBA players still out in the streets with an American public, led by black people, who are fed up with the continued institutional embrace of this nation’s founding principle of racial inequality.

It’s actually difficult to keep up with all of the NBA players out marching and protesting right now.

Good.

These Black Lives Matter protests have every appearance of being a defining generational event. If all of these NBA players help convert a few ignorant basketball fans to understanding, or help bring a few fans who agree but are inactive into active support of the movement, it will have been worth it. The consistent presence and in some areas leadership of NBA players in this movement (looking at you, Jaylen Brown and Harrison Barnes) builds a broader movement, and touches more people.

The protests are everywhere, and the NBA is everywhere within them. Players are making their voices heard. It’s imperative for teams and the league to start taking concrete actions to back up their supportive statements. What does that look like? I’m not entirely sure. But I bet the players have some ideas. It’d behoove the league to make that conversation a priority before the season resumes in seven weeks.

Links

Is the NFL changing its tune on peaceful protest and Black Lives Matter? Joel Anderson is skeptical. This story in The Athletic behind the video NFL players put together with the help of a rogue employee of the league office is pretty great. ($)

Saquon Barkley @saquon

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Celebrating Nick Van Exel’s 2003 playoff run for the Mavericks.

Lisa Leslie pens a letter to America.

Lindsay Gibbs on the WNBA’s disappointing response to the moment.

DeAntae Prince on Drew Brees’ flag honor opposition to peacefully kneeling during the anthem as erasure of black contributions to the United States’ military history.

Jon Givony on what we do and don’t know about the October 15 NBA Draft at this point on ESPN Insider. ($)

Gregg Popovich, folks.

San Antonio Spurs @spurs

“It’s got to be us that speak truth to power, that call it out no matter the consequences. We have to not let anything go. Our country is in trouble and the basic reason is race.” #SpursVoices

The Bulls won’t play meaningful basketball for another six months. As such, Arturas Karnisovas has decided to take some time before deciding if Jim Boylen will return as head coach.

John Schuhmann on how the Celtics create offense without ball movement.

My man Kristian Winfield on a week of protests outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Nets owner Joe Tsai welcomes it.

David Thorpe on coaching instinct in TrueHoop. ($)

Teams left out of Orlando are mulling joint workouts, per Woj.

People are buying anti-racism books in droves. Let’s hope they (we) are doing the reading.

Be excellent to each other.