Former Atlanta Hawks guard Sharife Cooper’s father could be the driving force behind the biggest mystery in the 2025 NBA Draft: Ace Bailey’s refusal to work out for any teams.
Cooper’s father, Omar Cooper, CEO and Founder of LifeStyle Sports Agency, is not listed as Bailey’s agent, per The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer. Adie Von Gontard (Young Money APAA Sports) and Daniel Green (GSE Worldwide) are Bailey’s agents.
Cooper is also not a certified NBA agent.
However, it is the elder Cooper who is “running point” on a confounding situation with the draft just over one week away.
“There are concerns among NBA evaluators about Bailey’s shot selection and general approach to the game,” Fischer wrote on June 19. “There is also a perception in some corners of the league that Bailey's approach has been coordinated by representation regarded as untraditional for a top prospect.
The Atlanta-based Cooper has been described by NBA teams as the point person running Bailey's pre-draft process. Cooper has yet to respond to multiple attempts of outreach from The Stein Line.”
A quote from Bailey about being the “big dog” has also raised eyebrows.
Fischer questioned if Bailey, once viewed as a lock to go in the top-three picks, could fall out of the top eight spots.
Hawks had high hopes for Sharife Cooper
The Hawks selected point guard Sharife Cooper with the 48th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. Then-Hawks president Travis Schlenk raved about landing Cooper, whom the exec said they had ranked much higher.
“We had him ranked much higher, obviously, than 48. So, yeah, we got pretty excited when we saw him there late,” Schlenk told reporters in July 2023.
“We’re excited to add him to our program as well.”
Cooper only lasted less than one full year with the Hawks, who waived him four days short of the mark in July 2022 after he struggled in summer league and changes to the roster around him.
He had had multiple stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2022 to 2024, though he never got into a regular-season game.
He spent part of 2023-24 and all of 2024-25 overseas in China, France, Greece, and Turkey.
Notably, the Hawks’ backup point guard spot behind four-time All-Star Trae Young remains a question mark heading into the 2025 offseason, despite their adding Kobe Bufkin with the No. 15 overall pick in 2023 and trading for Terance Mann at the 2025 deadline.
With two first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, Nos. 13 and 22, perhaps the Hawks take another swing at solving their long-standing issue.