I'm a certified body language doctor.
My diagnosis is that I don't like Ball's body language. He seems pouty and like he lacks confidence. Any time he is challenged, he folds. If the team isn't gift-wrapped for him, it seems like he doesn't know how to go out and take it.
I'm a millenial myself, but his whole persona kinda' wreaks of some of the worst parts of my generation. It's not just Ball either. It reminds me a bit of other recent "superstars" who were gift-wrapped the league before they even made the playoffs.
It just seems like if it isn't given to them, if the situation isn't perfect, if all things do not perfectly fall into line, they struggle with confidence. They struggle to go out and fight for it. Instead, they wait for coaches, GMs, and other players to keep working on the circumstances to make everything perfect for them to be the star they envision in their own mind.
Its not every millenial (Kuzma is earning his, for example), and some of it is just youth, not a generational thing. But I seriously wonder what the long-term effects of how teams have annointed players Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Lonzo Ball, Joel Embiid, De'Angelo Russel, Jahlil Okafor, Kristaps Porzingis, and Markelle Fultz before they even play a game. I wonder if there will be a greater amount of turnover on teams as young guys look for better circumstances, without ever being willing or able to grind to make the situation better themselves.
I wonder if it isn't better to forge basketball players in an environment of competition, like the Celtics organization.