Friday marked the birthday of the iconic David Bowie. To celebrate the late venerable singer, BBE Music tapped a handful of contemporary artists like Khruangbin and Helado Negro to cover some of Bowie’s music for the tribute album Modern Love.
The announcement of the 16-track tribute LP arrives alongside a wavy cover of Bowie’s 1972 hit “Space Oddity,” reimagined by R&B duo We Are King. The project itself was curated by music executive and DJ Drew McFadden, alongside BBE Music founder Peter Adarkwah.
Speaking about his inspiration behind the compilation, McFadden said he wanted to have Bowie’s music reworked across genres:
“I felt that the connection between Bowie and R&B, jazz, funk, gospel and all things soulful, had never really been explored before — at least not so much in covers, which tend to lean more towards rock and pop. Certainly, there’s been plenty of Bowie covers over the years, but none that have really tapped into what seems to have been a big part of his core musical style and direction.”
Echoing McFadden’s statement, We Are King explained their decision to cover “Space Oddity” in particular. “There were so many amazing Bowie compositions to choose from but ‘Space Oddity’ has always been our favorite. It’s so visual; it has always felt like time travel in a song,” they said. “It tells such a vivid and imaginative story of Major Tom’s trip through space and it was such a cool experience to reimagine what it’d be like on the voyage.”
Listen to We Are King’s cover of “Space Oddity” above and see the Modern Love album cover and tracklist below.
BBE Music
1. “Life On Mars” by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
2. “Sound & Vision” by Helado Negro
3. “Lady Grinning Soul” by Kit Sebastian
4. “Soul Love” by Jeff Parker and The New Breed Feat. Ruby Parker
5. “Panic In Detroit” by Sessa
6. “The Man Who Sold The World” by The Hics
7. “Right” by Khruangbin
8. “Silly Boy Blue” by Nia Andrews
9. “Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family” by Foxtrott
10. “Move On” by L’Rain
11. “Tonight” by Eddie Chacon & John Carroll Kirby
12. “Modern Love” by Jonah Mutono
13. “Where Are We Now” by Bullion
14. “Fantastic Voyage” by Meshell Ndegeocello
15. “Heroes” by Matthew Tavares
16. “Space Oddity” by We Are King
Donald Trump finally conceded the 2020 presidential election on Thursday, months after all the votes were counted and a day after a violent coup attempt at US Capitol was incited by the president of the United States. Despite all of that, many couldn’t help but speculate that Trump finally verbally agreed to a peaceful transition of power only because he couldn’t tweet.
But Trump, despite clearly violating the rules of the site and seeing his tweets removed and account suspended in the wake of the MAGA riot, remains on Twitter as of Friday evening. That comes even after hundreds of employees at Twitter have reportedly lobbied for his removal from the platform altogether, like Sidney Powell and Lin Wood and Michael Flynn before him. According to The Verge, Twitter employees have circulated a letter demanding the company remove the president from the platform for a laundry list of violations.
“We must examine Twitter’s complicity in what President-Elect Biden has rightly termed insurrection. Those acts jeopardize the wellbeing of the United States, our company, and our employees,” they wrote.
The letter writers also call for Twitter to “provide a clear account” of the company’s decision to temporarily suspend Trump’s account and to investigate “Twitter’s role in today’s insurrection.”
“We must learn from our mistakes in order to avoid causing future harm,” they wrote.
Despite growing pressure from inside and outside the company to deplatform Trump, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has resisted those calls. In a statement sent within the company and reported by The Verge, Dorsey said Twitter had drawn “a very clear line in the sand” regarding what Trump cannot do on Twitter, but said he had not crossed it and therefore the company would not delete his account.
“It’s important we follow a clear and public rule set that can endure beyond any one moment,” Dorsey wrote. “Why? In order to earn trust. I know it may not feel that way right now.”
Dorsey also argued that it was up to elected leaders to repair the damage from Wednesday’s attack. “We aren’t the government,” he said. “Our elected officials must do the work to right this and bring the country together. Our role is around the integrity of the conversation of that work, and doing everything we can to promote healthy discourse, knowing it’s not always going to be accepted in the short term. But it will be over the long term. I’m certain of that.”
Dorsey said that Twitter had drawn “a very clear line in the sand” by saying it would permanently suspend Trump if he further violated the platform’s rules. “If that line is crossed, we will do what we said we are going to do,” he wrote.
Trump, whose personal account on Twitter has more than 88 million followers, has tweeted just three times since two posts were removed and his account was suspended amid the insurrection he sparked in Washington on Wednesday. The Daily Beast reported on Thursday that Trump was furious his ability to tweet was taken away from him, and there’s speculation that Twitter may be willing to take more action against Trump and his violent rhetoric when he leaves office. But until then, it seems Twitter is hesitant to remove Trump from the platform permanently, for better or worse.
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, businesses across the country – especially local restaurants – have once again been forced to close their doors. Many shuttering for good. According to a September 2020 analysis by Yelp, Hawaii, California, and Nevada have the highest rate of permanent restaurant closures, with Los Angeles having the record number of temporary and permanent closures across the country. The National Restaurant Association predicts 43% of California restaurants will not survive the pandemic.
Even if a restaurant doesn’t face permanent closure, the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry, in general, and independent restaurants, in specific, is immense. And it’s going to reverberate for years to come.
Faced with bleak odds, hard costs, and the need for income, many chefs and restaurateurs have taken innovative approaches to their own survival. We’ve seen lauded restaurants turn into high-end commissaries, to-go joints, and meal-kit creators. The general mantra for chefs (already experimental types) has been “try stuff” — and try they have, to varying degrees of success.
Among these forward-thinkers is Executive Chef Phillip Frankland Lee, founder of Scratch Restaurants Group — the team behind Sushi|Bar and Scratch|Bar & Kitchen. Lee’s many accolades include being a San Pellegrino “Young Chef 2015” finalist and getting named in Zagat’s “30 under 30,” along with being mentioned in the Michelin Guide. He’s also a favorite of our resident Top Chef recapper, Vince Mancini, appearing on the show in 2016.
Megan Young
Lee’s appreciation for sushi began at the age of 13, when he began buying sushi books and learning how to prepare rolls and sashimi at home. Together with his wife, Margarita Kallas-Lee, co-owner and a pastry chef for Scratch’s various projects, the chef opened the first Sushi|Bar three years ago in Los Angeles, before expanding to Santa Barbara.
“That’s been a passion of mine… pretty much my whole life at this point,” Lee says.
On the heels of Top Chef and heaps of media praise, the company boomed. But when the pandemic hit, all six of Lee’s restaurants had to quickly transition to takeout — which presented a major challenge when dealing with a business model based on tasting menus and serving raw fish. At the time of the lockdowns, Scratch|Bar & Kitchen consisted of a 25-course tasting menu and Sushi|Bar offered a 17-course omakase service, neither of which proved particularly to-go friendly.
There was a sliver of hope for the Scratch team when California restaurants were permitted to reopen over the summer — operating with patio service only — but that was dashed in late November, as California became the poster child of failed pandemic response and a new round of full lockdowns was initiated in LA county.
“It broke our hearts to have to go to our staff a couple of weeks before Christmas and tell them they don’t have jobs anymore,” Lee says. “I immediately thought to myself, ‘I’m not okay with this. I’m going to go out and find a place that will let us operate.’”
Compelled by his love for the Sushi|Bar family, Lee began reaching out to friends across the country, on the hunt for the right place to operate a pop-up.
“The biggest motivation for me is my team,” he says. “My little brother runs one of the restaurants. My sister is our bookkeeper. My wife’s father builds all our restaurants. It really is a family business. We don’t look at our team as staff or employees. We look at them as family members.”
Megan Young
The search for a temporary home ended in Austin, Texas, where Lee found a situation that offered favorable business conditions, friendly chefs, and a dining public eager to try new things. After running a three-week pop-up during SXSW in 2013, he felt comfortable that the local food scene would connect with his inventive style.
“I told myself, ‘You’re going to go out there and sign a deal,’” Lee says. “‘I don’t know how, but I’m going to do it.’’”
In Austin. the chef was introduced to Bento Picnic’s chef-owner, Leanne Valenti, and the two immediately hit it off. Less than two weeks later, the Scratch pop-up was opened to the public.
“The impetus for this was I really wasn’t okay with my staff not being paid over the holidays,” Lee says. “So, I said, ‘How many of you want to relocate and go work?’”
Lee bought eager team members their plane tickets and rented a house — the Texas-iteration of the Sushi|Bar concept has been running since December 29th. The pop-up, which is located within a private dining room of Bento Picnic, features a 17-course omakase menu. It’s Lee’s boldly creative, Instagram-friendly cooking in a new setting — a true culinary experience.
Leanne Valenti
Upon arrival at the Sushi|Bar pop-up, you’re greeted with a sake-based welcome cocktail before entering the dimly lit dining room for the full omakase sushi experience. To keep diners safe, the room seats only six people and there are large plexiglass barriers between each pair of guests. As in a traditional omakase experience, dinners face the cutting boards, watching the chefs work.
From yellowtail to a toro and caviar combo exclusive to Sushi|Bar, each bite matches flavor with innovation (including a tasty dessert crafted by Kallas-Lee). With all the excuses in the world to cut corners, Lee and company cut none — making all their own soy sauce and using fresh wasabi imported from Japan. Drink pairings consist of sake, wine, and beer.
Upon completion of the 17 courses, guests have the chance to wind down their evening with Kyoto, Japan’s acclaimed pale ale, Lucky Dog, from a cedarwood masu box – adding a divine exclamation point to the experience.
Lee’s mission while California remains in lockdown is to continue to host pop-ups in Austin and beyond – and maybe even find something permanent. Though the current run is scheduled to last through the end of January, the goal is to operate for an additional 60 to 90 days before evaluating if Sushi|Bar will remain a long-term fixture in Austin. Meanwhile, the Scratch team is considering more pop-ups in Hawaii, North Carolina, and Florida (specifically Miami) for 2021.
“If 2020 taught us one thing it’s to turn on a dime,” Lee says. “My team has gotten good at it. We’ve had days where we’re indoors and at three o’clock in the afternoon, the California government says, ‘You can’t open tonight. You have to go to the patio.’ For me, it’s very important to just assess the situation and move forward.”
Though the need to support local and independent restaurants can’t be overstated, the situation is certainly serious, and chefs like Lee (who have been successful on TV and on the award circuit) have a leg up, his positive outlook remains admirable.
“Don’t give up and don’t take no for an answer,” he says. “You can always figure it out. All that energy you have crying and saying, ‘Poor me’ or ‘Why is this happening to me?’ – figure it out, especially in Austin. I believe that when there’s a will there’s a way — just go and do it.”
The Hold Steady have been around for nearly two decades and they’re far from finished releasing new music. Gearing up for the debut of their eighth studio album, Open Door Policy, the band shares the driving single “Heavy Covenant.”
“Heavy Covenant” is the second single shared of their Open Door Policy LP, following the raucous track “Family Farm.” Speaking about the new single in a statement, The Hold Steady’s vocalist Craig Finn says the song came together relatively seamlessly:
“‘Heavy Covenant’ is a song about travel, technology, and human connection. The song came out of two different music pieces that The Hold Steady piano/keyboardist Franz Nicolay brought in, and with the help of producer Josh Kaufman, we combined them. It came together quickly, and when our friends Stuart and Jordan came in and added the horns to the chorus it really seemed to bring it together. To us, this song is a great indication of where the band’s sound is at in 2021.”
About their Open Door Policy album as a whole, Finn said: “Open Door Policy was very much approached as an album vs. a collection of individual songs, and it feels like our most musically expansive record. This album was written and almost entirely recorded before the pandemic started, but the songs and stories explore power, wealth, mental health, technology, capitalism, consumerism, and survival – issues which have compounded in 2020.”
Listen to The Hold Steady’s “Heavy Covenant” above and check out their Open Door Policy album cover and tracklist below.
Donald Trump may have pardoned former national security advisor Michael Flynn, but he can’t do anything to keep the conspiracy theorist and convicted felon on his favorite social media site. NBC News reporters Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny wrote on Friday that Michael Flynn and Trump lawyer Sidney Powell had been permanently banned from the social media platform after spreading QAnon conspiracies that helped, in part, spark a MAGA riot that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Trump’s behalf on Wednesday.
QAnon followers, who believe Trump was elected to save the United States from a cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic child predators in the Democratic Party and also Hollywood, played a huge part in organizing and carrying out mob violence in Washington, D.C. that left five people dead and resulted in the biggest breach of the U.S. Capitol since the War of 1812. And as arrests of those responsible and talk of a second impeachment of Trump for inciting the violence dominated news coverage on Friday, word that several Trump surrogates were banned from Twitter also made the rounds:
Flynn and Powell both counseled with Trump at the White House in recent weeks as part of efforts to overturn election results. They are also high-profile figures in the QAnon community, and Flynn even took an “oath” to the conspiracy theory last year.
“The accounts have been suspended in line with our policy on Coordinated Harmful Activity. We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm, and given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content,” a Twitter spokesperson told NBC News.
This is, perhaps, the least of Powell’s worries: Friday brought word that Dominion Voting Systems is suing her to the tune of $1.3 billion for amplifying false claims that the company committed widespread voter fraud in an effort to steal the election from Donald Trump.
The report also noted that the person many believe to be behind many widespread QAnon posts, Ron Watkins, who runs the message board where Q drops are now posted, also had his account deleted. The conspiracy, apart from being completely baseless and wildly detached from reality, originated from a game on message boards far removed from the mainstream. That the conspiracy became popular and was openly shared on a more mainstream site, and it took real-world violence and sedition to remove it from Twitter, really speaks to the long leash afforded to Trump and his followers. After Wednesday, and with Trump’s days in office officially numbered, that stance appears to be changing.
In the chaos of the attack on the Capitol two days ago, some important stories have gotten a bit buried. One story that’s not getting the attention it should—ironically, because journalists usually do everything they can to not make themselves the story—is the violent attacks on the press that took place.
New York Times staff photographer Erin Schaff described her harrowing experience in a Twitter post shared by her colleague Emily Cochrane.
In Schaff’s words:
“Grabbing my press pass, they saw that my ID said The New York Times and became really angry. They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras. I started screaming for help as loudly as I could. No one came. People just watched. At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them. They ripped one of my cameras away from me, broke a lens on the other and ran away.
But then the police found me. I told them that I was a photojournalist and that my pass had been stolen, but they didn’t believe me. They drew their guns, pointed them and yelled at me to get down on my hands and knees. As I lay on the ground, two other photojournalists came into the hall and started shouting “She’s a journalist!”
the fact that @erinschaff experienced THIS and still filed photos and wrote about makes me want to cry all over aga… https://t.co/nYwfhObRGf
Another photographer, John Minchillo from the Associated Press, was physically assaulted, with the attack being caught on video. Some in the crowd seemed to think he’s part of ANTIFA, despite him clearly and repeatedly pointing out his press credentials. At one point, he is violently thrown over a wall and you can hear someone yelling that they were going to kill him, but he thankfully was escorted away without injury.
The AP, which is known for being one of the least biased, most factual news outlets, had a bunch of their equipment destroyed by the mob, who chanted “CNN sucks” while destroying it. You’d think the big “AP” stickers on some of the equipment would have offered a clue that it was not CNN’s, but no one is accusing these folks of being the sharpest pencils in the pack.
Outside the Capitol, pro-Trump protesters are smashing cameras and other media equipment yelling “CNN sucks!”
One… https://t.co/8TF028ZltW
It should be crystal clear to anyone who values democracy that an attack on the free press is never okay. The freedom of the press is enshrined in the first amendment of the Constitution, and since the people who stormed the Capitol building were attempting to put themselves in the place of our duly elected government, their attacks on the press were an attack not just on the individuals and media outlets involved, but on the Constitution itself.
It shouldn’t be surprising that people who have been told pretty much daily that the news media is the “enemy of the people” would eventually take that rhetoric seriously. This is exactly what people who criticized the president’s extreme language warned would eventually happen.
People can have legitimate criticisms of media companies while still recognizing that the journalists working on the ground are heroes of democracy who put themselves into harm’s way to keep us informed about what’s happening in the world. These are people who document history as it happens. They are the eyes and ears of the people, and without them we would truly be living in darkness.
Attacks on the free press are attacks on democracy itself and should be called out as such. And the fact that these attacks came not from some outside terrorist group, but from a group of American citizens violently attacking an entire branch of our federal government, should be a huge wake-up call about where we are and the extremist rhetoric that led us here.
It’s been over five years since we last heard from R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan with her LP Reality Show. But this week, the singer returned to get a lot off her chest with the vulnerable album Heaux Tales. To celebrate the release of her project, Sullivan appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series to showcase her dynamic vocal range and soothing melodies.
Taking the stage with her band and a trio of backup singers, Sullivan kicked off her set with her Heaux Tales album opener “Bodies (Intro).” The song is Sullivan’s way of holding herself accountable for her past slip-ups and pushing herself to find the strength to change her lifestyle. The singer then transitioned into a rendition of her tracks, “The Other Side,” “Lost One,” and “Let It Burn.”
Closing out her set, Sullivan was joined by Grammy Award-winning musician HER for assistance performing their collaborative single “Girl Like Me.” HER appeared by Sullivan’s side with an acoustic guitar in hand to contribute her expert finger-picking and soaring vocals. The two harmonize an account of feeling insecure after being left in the dust by their last partner.
During an attempt to blame Antifa for Wednesday’s attempted coup by a Trump mob, InfoWars conspiracy peddler Alex Jones inadvertently revealed that he was directed by the White House, days in advance, to lead the MAGA crowd to the Capitol building. While describing his version of events as a speaker for the protest that sought to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results, Jones disclosed to viewers of The Alex Jones Show that he was given specific instructions on how to herd everyone towards the Capitol building. However, he says there was already a crowd on its way there, which he claims is when things went sideways as the angry mob quickly switched from protesters to domestic terrorists. Via Media Matters for America:
And then the White House told me three days before, “We’re going to have you lead the march. The Secret Service — before Trump finishes, 30 minutes before — so we’ll lead you to a point, take you out of the front row and lead you to the place where they want you to start the march and Trump will tell people, ‘Go, and I’m going to meet you at the Capitol.’” There was a million people outside of the Ellipse that was — you know, metal detectors, folks coming in. And so, by the time I got out there 20 minutes, 30 minutes before Trump finished his speech there were already hundreds of thousands of people ahead of me marching.
As a noted friend and advisor to the president, Jones stuck to the current administration talking point that Antifa disguised themselves to look like Trump supporters. “They had their classic elbow pads and knee pads, because that’s what the wimps wear, out there screaming, ‘F Antifa’ and Proud Boy chants to try and blame the Proud Boys,” Jones said. Contrary to the claims of Jones and other Republican leaders like Matt Gaetz, the FBI has said there is “no indication” that Antifa was involved.
Tiger (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — This documentary takes an intimate look at the rise, fall, and return of Tiger Woods. Our own Vince Mancini calls this an irresistible watch, and the film charts the prodigy’s obsession with his sport that led him to the highest of heights and fame, which led to a downward spiral, and eventually, an epic comeback.
Pretend It’s A City (Netflix limited series) — Marty Scorsese’s back on Netflix while directing this project revolving around long-time friend Fran Lebowitz. The series follows her “New Yorker to the core” brand of straight talking in what’s essentially a punchy guidebook that will appeal to true New Yorkers. Scorsese, too, gives his own takes on the Big Apple, so expect a double dose of attitude on everything from tourists to the subways to the arts to, yes, Times Square.
The Mystic Sisters Present: Mystery Mansion (Amazon prime special) — Inspired by cult comedies like What We Do In The Shadows and Evil Dead, this comedy special chronicles incompetent characters that face chaos and doom while also battling each other. There’s a mystical mansion and a portal of power, and everything has a very Mystery Science Theater 3000 flavor in this sketch-comedy special.
Pieces of a Woman (Netflix film) — Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf star as Martha and Sean, respectively, who experience an unimaginable tragedy when a home birth goes wrong. Martha then undertakes a yearlong odyssey while coping with grief and her relationship with Sean, which (unsurprisingly) strains under the pressure of their mutual loss. Meanwhile, Ellen Burstyn plays her overbearing mom, and Molly Parker plays the publicly shamed midwife. Look for this movie to be an awards contender.
Herself (Amazon prime film) — A single mother escapes her abusive partner and builds a new life with the help of a marvelous crew of unexpected helpers. It’s an illuminating journey that finds inspiration in, strangely, a bedtime story. Alright!
Fatale (VOD film) — This psychological thriller stars Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy. He plays a sports agent who falls in with a sexy and mysterious woman (Swank), who turns out to be a police detective. And of course, he’s risking his family, career, and life after becoming embroiled within her investigation.
Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:
Supermarket Sweep (Sunday, ABC 8:00 p.m.) — Leslie Jones and every bit of her enthusiasm will host contestants in this revival of the grocery-shopping game show.
Shameless (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Guess who’s moving in next door to the Gallaghers? The Milkoviches. This should go over well at around the same time that Mickey’s picking up his new security gig for Kevin and V. Meanwhile, Debbie’s turning into a stage mom.
Your Honor (Sunday, Showtime 10:00 p.m.) — Panic-Cranstoning is still in high effect with Bryan Cranston’s bad-breaking judge realizing that he’s being blackmailed while the mob family still aims to avenge their son’s hit-and-run death. This week, Adam tangles with a dangerous love interest, and Michael’s trying to wiggle away from his blackmailer.
History of Swear Words (Netflix series) — A Nic Cage series? Yes please. A Nic Cage series where he teaches us lessons about expletives? Give it to me now. Cage hosts here with an array of guests — including Jim Jefferies, Zainab Johnson, Nick Offerman, Sarah Silverman, Baron Vaughn, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Joel Kim Booster, DeRay Davis, Open Mike Eagle, Nikki Glaser, Patti Harrison, London Hughes — to dive deep into his proudly profane stance. Over the course of six episodes, you’ll learn about the origins of “F*ck,” “Sh*t,” “B*tch,” “D*ck,” “Pu**y,” and “Damn.”
In case you missed these picks from last weekend:
Cobra Kai: Season 3 — (Netflix series) The good news? This The Karate Kid revival is still as much of an adrenaline shot as the last two rounds. The bad news? It’s also infuriatingly good. After Johnny and Daniel’s combined bad moves contributed heavily to Miguel landing in a hospital bed, Johnny’s looking for redemption. While he does the hard work in the hospital — and Kreese re-takes the dubious reigns of the Cobra Kai dojo, which makes me worried about him instructing Hawk to be even more of an anger-bear monster — Daniel-san heads to Okinawa, where an old rival is ready for him. The soul and fate of every sensei (and their students) are up for grabs.
Vikings: Season 6B — (Amazon Prime) The final ten episodes of the History Channel series are making their debut on streaming first. The epic saga comes to a close with grave consequences from the confrontations between the Vikings and the Rus. Ivar the Boneless has a last reckoning with the King, and there’s unfinished business all over England. Get ready for (of course) a violent and bloody end to the show.
The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: Part Four — (Netflix series) The Riverdale spinoff will come to a (planned) end with this installment starring Kiernan Shipka. This time around, the Devil-afflicted Nick’s attempting to win Sabrina back after surrendering to his darker urges, but The Eldritch Terrors have descended upon Greendale, and The Void could truly be the End of All Things. Can the Fright Club save the day? I’m (strangely) pulling for Harvey over here. And Salem the Cat. Meow.
After a story at The Athletic dropped on Friday morning detailing how John Collins and Clint Capela criticized Trae Young during a Hawks film session earlier this week, Atlanta media asked Young about his response to the situation, and Young responded that nothing out of the ordinary happened at those conversations are part of a young team getting better.
Young struggled in the next game he played on Wednesday, taking only nine shots in a home loss to Charlotte, but his words on Friday indicated he may have moved on.
It’s hard to tell here where one fissure begins and another ends. Tension between Young and head coach Lloyd Pierce has been reported on multiple times over the course of the past two seasons, and of course Collins’ contract extension negotiations became public prior to the NBA deadline last fall as he turned down a new deal in order to face restricted free agency in 2021. Pierce in the past has expressed that he wants to give Young the space to develop as a leader.
It is also clearly true that Young plays a style that does not involve sophisticated offensive sets and can often phase his teammates out of the offense. Young is not the only one in the NBA who plays this way, but unlike guys like James Harden or Luka Doncic, it has not led to his team making the postseason. However, Atlanta is also just 4-4 and still has a solid shot at being in the playoff conversation in the East, so they have plenty of runway to figure things out if this ends up being put in the past.
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