When Ace Bailey‘s name was called, announcing that he had been selected by the Utah Jazz with the fifth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, there didn’t appear to be the usual excitement. He wasn’t smiling ear to ear. He wasn’t giddy.
Of course, most people aren’t body language experts. They certainly aren’t telepathic. So, everyone that’s doubted whether he was happy about being taken by the Jazz could be wrong. In his own words, Bailey is only focused on playing basketball and improving. Nevertheless, after doing everything he could not to be drafted by Utah, they took him anyway.
Ace Bailey Adds Fuel To Fire Amid Head-Scratching Jazz Draft
“I asked Omar Cooper his thoughts on his client’s future in Utah and he declined to answer those questions,” ESPN and DraftExpress analyst Jonathan Givony told his colleagues during Day 2 of the 2025 NBA Draft. “He told me there’s nothing uncommon about Bailey’s pre-draft process. 18 teams interviewed him, they all saw him work out at the NBA Draft Combine, they all have his medicals (and) his measurements. He’s not the first player to decline or cancel workouts.”
Ace Baileys agent (Omar Cooper) declined to comment on his clients future in Utah with the Jazz, per @DraftExpress pic.twitter.com/KvrjuIKlyz
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) June 27, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
With that in mind, Bailey’s not only human, he’s just 18 years old. If he really did only have three teams that he wanted to play for, the Jazz didn’t just make a business decision. They decided to risk frustrating and alienating their top draft pick before he ever stepped foot in the building. Even worse, they mucked up Bailey’s literal once-in-a-lifetime moment, showing that they don’t really care about his wants.
Who would be jumping for joy about that? More to the point, who would want to report to a team with such an impersonal if not callous approach? That being said, Bailey’s camp reportedly told at least one team that he wouldn’t report to them if drafted. In light of Cooper’s recent comments, that could be the way they decide to play the situation with the Jazz.
If so, it hearkens back to the 1999 NBA Draft, when Kobe Bryant infamously refused to suit up for the Charlotte Hornets and wound up being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after they selected him.
Do They Really Need Him?
The Jazz have plenty of players and a few that are really good.
For many, the focal point is Lauri Markkanen, who has averaged 23.0 points per game since arriving in Salt Lake City. In 2023, he not only won the Most Improved Player Award but earned his first All-Star selection. Yet, Markkanen’s injury-riddled season allowed John Collins to be their answer many nights. In fact, Collins averaged 19.0 points per game in 2024-25, his highest single-season average this decade.
A platoon of guards has also earned salutes.
Jordan Clarkson, the 2021 Sixth Man of the Year, might be Jazz head coach Will Hardy’s favorite player on the team. If not him, it’s likely 2023 No. 16 pick Keyonte George, who averaged a career-high 16.8 points per game last season. 2024 No. 29 pick Isaiah Collier broke John Stockton’s rookie record for single-season assists while emerging as their best point-of-attack defender. Former top-10 pick Collin Sexton deserves his flowers for being the only ultra-efficient volume scoring guard in their rotation.
Yet, for all their talent, the Jazz don’t believe they have enough to compete for a championship. That’s the primary reason why they were willing to self-sabotage —or, in other words, tank –their 2024-25 season. In a way, this is strange.
Cog In The Machine
Just the fact that in the last six years, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo have won a ring with only one other teammate scoring at least 20 points per game. When Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard won a title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, he was the only player scoring at least 20 points per game.
Utah objectively has multiple players capable of doing so. On top of that, by the time Bailey reaches that level, he’ll likely be replacing another player who can. To that point, Collins, Clarkson and Sexton will all be on expiring contracts in 2024-25. Thus, Bailey isn’t an addition so much as another cog in the machine
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