Ace Bailey to the Jazz: A Dream Pick or a Nightmare Start?

Ace Bailey to the Jazz: A Dream Pick or a Nightmare Start?

lot of emotions this week in the NBA draft a lot of great reactions people tearing up realizing their dreams and then you see Ace Bailey wearing a Utah Jazz hat poutin just not happy he didn’t want to go to Utah it seems jonathan Gavone over at Draft Express reported that he told at least one team in the top five that he did not want to play for them and then Brian Windhorst over at ESPN followed up with a bunch of reports about how he doesn’t think the Ang Danny A and Austin A are gonna back down from the fact Ace Bailey so on Thursday the day after the first round of the draft Walter Clayton their other first round pick flew out to Utah ace Bailey did not winhorse said again this morning now it’s Friday morning that this is not a crisis yet that’s what Winhor said he said that’s what the Jazz are projecting out right now but it could be if he doesn’t come to Utah over the weekend because they’re starting their summer league training camp on Monday tom I liked Utah’s draft on paper ace Bailey a big swing walter Clayton with the 18th pick in the first round a swing a guard who can get buckets clutch we saw him win the national championship then John Ton 24y old wing bucket getter i liked what they did in the draft but if Ace Bailey is going to make this difficult what a start to his NBA career here man what What do you make of this Tom what do you make of this whole situation for Utah and Ace Bailey i think the Utah journalists are trying to figure out who is representing Ace Bailey where is he getting his advice here to start his career where he becomes a top five NBA pick and then is seemingly he’s trying to strongarm the Danny A and his son a Danny A who built a championship roster and and with this Utah team it’s not a great fit in terms of the style of play will Hardy is one of those coaches who really believes in Missoula ball or the same sort of uh I you know 3 and D mindset where she’s like fire up threes abandon the mid-range take high efficiency shots and that’s not Ace Bailey’s game but they feel like they can mold this guy into a player that can be an all-star one day a big swing like you said but are you sure that he’s getting the right counsel or the right advice uh are we even sure that his agent is even certified by by the MBPA because it seems like for me what I’m reading from reports Ace Bailey is coming into this pre-draft process with with not the most uh typical or traditional representation giving him his best advice it doesn’t seem like this is going well
so his his agent air quotes when I say that is Omar Cooper omar Cooper is the father of Share Cooper a player that went to Auburn share Cooper was suspended for about half of his freshman year at Auburn because his father represented him and the NCAA did not approve of this relationship with a family member agent now Cooper is also not NBPA certified so he is representing Ace Bailey but he is not certified by the MBPA okay so the we’re in a situation here where Ace Bailey is getting his advice from Omar Cooper not a certified agent giving him bad advice poor planning throughout all of this process as well not working out for teams cancelling on the Sixers just horribly mismanaged by Omar Cooper and for Ace Bailey it I think there’s two ways to look at this one he’s a kid and he made a tough choice everybody can see it except for him right like it’s just like kids make poor choices but also like you’re you’re going to be a professional and I think it does speak poorly on sometimes your choices like you have to take agency in your life like you are you are 19 years old it’s your choice to choose this guy who isn’t a certified agent who let’s just be honest like there’s no signs that this guy is a trustworthy agent a talented agent there’s no track record and for a player who’s projected at the top five pick for things to be handled this way i mean come on your alarm bells got to be going off for Race Bailey right now they have to be going off like wait a minute did I just make a poor choice or here i I think I need to correct this like your alarm bells have to be going off yes okay like at this point they have to be have to be and so for Ace Bailey I think it’s foolish if he does not go to Utah and play out this situation with the Jazz because you’re getting drafted to a situation that is stable with ownership and front office and head coach will Hardy is a very talented young head coach the Angels in that front office very tight with ownership ryan Smith this is not a front office a coaching staff that I think is going to be overhauled in a year or two years this is a stable place for you to grow with a lot of other good young talent on the team for you to grow aside walter Clayton included John Ton included never mind the guys that are already on that roster right now a Taylor Hendris type uh like Lowry Markin and more established at this point but Isaiah Collier a good playmaking guard who had a great rookie season this is a good basketball situation and so if Ace Bailey is you know in honest when he’s like I’m just focused on basketball he was asked this week at his media day thing did you see this Tom where he’s like why didn’t you work out for the Sixers and his answer was I’m just focused on basketball are you kidding me what that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard and if this is his agent speaking through him like dude you got to realize you made a mistake change your representation find someone legit somebody proven who can help you make the right choices in your career and steer you right instead of whatever the hell’s going on here cuz not only did they really negatively impact him financially falling from three to five or even if possibly further like he wanted to you’re in a situation now where you might be ruining the entire start of your career because who knows this he might show up he might be on a flight right now as we speak that’s possible but he also might not show up on Monday and make this ugly considering the Goon report that he told teams he wouldn’t report if they drafted him we don’t know which team that was we do not know yet or if it were multiple teams but it’s very possible he could become a hold out and to me that is stupid it is stupid to do that when Utah is a great situation for him to grow in his career and get over some of his weaknesses that he does have that he has weaknesses kev who does he think he is like he’s a guy who was on a losing team this year didn’t make the NCAA tournament he shot 69% from the free throw line 34% from three he’s build as a great uh score and jump shooter but the projections statistically don’t pan out nearly as highly as he thinks he is and I I said this last week when we were on the show together uh the way that his his statistical profile projects at the next level it doesn’t scream like a guy who can really strongarm his way and bully teams into doing what he wants and capitulating to his demands it reminds me like Chris Sporzingis agents when they go into the draft they can have some power in trying to uh dissuade teams from taking them like Chris Haps Borzingis famously the medicals and the workouts all that tried to force his way into a particular situation it didn’t work out for Chris Absorzing and then he became an all-star in New York like I think that’s the the method that he has to take Ace Bailey is like look we failed in trying to uh bully our way to getting to a particular destination but at the end of the day he has to be a professional and I’ll remind you of this Kev every day that he looks like a mal content or unprofessional is another day that another team will be like you know what I I I don’t think so i was interested in Ace Bailey before but the way that he’s handled this situation I don’t know if I want to bring him into our team culture so he’s not doing himself any favors by trying to force his way into another situation or getting to his team of destination because I I can bet you that that team that is acquiring him is probably looking at this situation and saying “Ah I’m I’m getting second thoughts about this kid.” I think in the end he ends up in Utah i’d just be surprised if the Angels went any other way i’d just be surprised if they folded here if they traded Ace Bailey unless it were for a significant hall like unless it’s for a massive hall i can’t imagine them trading up trading for Ace Bailey and as you said Tom you’re right if you’re these other teams you’re like “Oh wait a minute here are we sure we want to deal with this right are we sure about that?” And I mean everything I heard prior to the draft is that Ace Bailey is a good kid that team teams his teammates like being around him he’s fun in the locker room guys enjoy being on bus rides with him like people like teammates like Ace Bailey as a kid someone to be around but everything that I heard prior to the draft is that it’s the people around him that teams were worried about and so for Utah I think they’re banking that their culture that they have their stability that they have from an organizational alignment standpoint which is critical for Ace Bailey they’re banking that that can set him on the right path and make him realize all his talents and I and I hope to God Ace Bailey sees it that way because I was when they drafted him I was happy for Ace Bailey i was like “Oh my god this might be the best possible situation for him.” And then they go and get Walter Clayton and then they go and get John Ton and you look at this team that has a ton of picks and a good coach and a lot of good young talent and a great front office and you’re like “Oh my god.” like Ace Bailey at five like it’s possible you look back and it’s how did Ace Bailey fall to five like that’s possible and so I hope for him he ends up going there and we’ll see what happens man we’ll see
did you Did you see what Jeff Peterson said in Charlotte uh after they picked Khan Canipple and like had the press conference he said “We weren’t totally comfortable trading back because we weren’t sure we were going to get our guy in Kong Canipple.” So what does that mean what picking the tea leaves here you
I didn’t realize he actually said that publicly they had talks with the Wizards at six i didn’t know he said that publicly wow so Utah at five you’d imagine that maybe Ace Ba maybe Ace Bailey was number number four on their board or number three and that they were happy to take Ace Bailey but you can see that the that Khan Canipple could have been there at five and do the Utah Jazz take him who’s a much better three-point shooter more proven three-point shooter um and a guy who uh was part of a very winning program at Duke and so Jeff Peterson was basically saying was like “We had talks of course lots of talks this time of year about you know trading back but we really wanted our guy.” And they got their guy and I wonder Utah where Ace Bailey was on their board and considering all the reports about the lack of interviews or the lack of discussion and face-to-face contact with Ace Bailey uh I wonder if they Utah was like you know what at the end of the day high-risk high reward move and getting Ace Bailey but the red carpet is there for him in Utah like you look at that wing position in Utah larry Markin could be the four and then you got Walker Kesler at the five but they need a guy who can go and attack and score on the wing and that could be Ace Bailey and so I’m with you this was a great situation for him to realize that potential and it seems like at the moment he seems to be wasting that even before he steps on the floor
he’s going to fire Omar Cooper and hire a real agent period end of story that’s what Ace Bailey is going to do you have that you have the alarm bells are going off just just listen to

Ace Bailey hasn’t reported to the Utah Jazz — and the red flags are piling up.

From skipping workouts to questionable representation, experts say this rookie might already be sabotaging his NBA future. So what’s really going on with Bailey and his agent Omar Cooper? Let’s break it down.

Should the Jazz move on… or hold firm? Sound off in the comments 👇

0:00 – Intro: Ace Bailey’s Draft Drama Begins
2:15 – Jazz Draft Bailey Anyway
4:42 – Where Is Ace Bailey Now?
6:05 – Inside the Omar Cooper Situation
8:55 – What Happens If He Doesn’t Report?
11:12 – Long-Term Impact on Bailey’s Career

🔗2025 NBA Draft:

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