Dwyane Wade on Utah Jazz Drafting Ace Bailey & Walter Clayton Jr.

Dwyane Wade on Utah Jazz Drafting Ace Bailey & Walter Clayton Jr.

I wanted to get your reactions ready because it happened right after we talked about like Utah’s draft and everything with all like the competition with that and like how how y’all feeling basically um as as as running with Utah and then obviously with everything else now we going to summer league but like how you feeling right now with the AC with the ace. Yeah. So, you know, I think everybody wanted the number one pick, right? Like everyone everyone wants the number one pick always, but when they got the fifth pick, I think, you know, history shows you that the fifth pick can be a a really good pick. There’s been some incredible players drafted um at that fifth pick that have changed organizations, you know what I mean? Kevin Garnett, McBride, Charles Bark, um myself, um Ray Allen. Yeah. you know, just some cool name of people who has been drafted, has been Hall of Famers. And so getting a young guy like Ace Bailey, you know, the talent that he has, you cannot pass him up, y’all. Like it’s no way you e even though the the rumor mill was saying that he wanted to go to certain teams. There’s no way you can pass him up, right? He’s too talented. He’s one of those he’s one of those guys that just walk in the gym and he can get you 30. He just he’s just one of those mellow type of score type of players, right? And so you had you had to get him. And so I I thought Denny and you know and the staff did an amazing job of grabbing a young fella and then you know we all know what we heard from a media standpoint but ultimately the young man and his family made their way down to Utah. Um and he seemed excited to be there. He got right to the court. Ultimately he just he this is a job for him and he did what he’s supposed to do. Soon as he got there he clocked in and went right to work and so he’s going to be fine. I think he as he allows it he’s going to understand he’s in a very good organization. uh he’s in a very good spot to allow himself to grow one as a young man but also two as a young basketball player in this league. Um I think it was a very good move for him and you know we’ll see you know how he responds to it but I think everyone’s excited about the young core in Utah obviously not just Ace but uh Chris Guy Walter Clayton Jr. as well. You know, the guy from Florida, that was a great pick that we got as well. Um, it was real sneaky. Nobody thought it was going to happen. And so, you know, when you grade the Utah Jazz’s, you know, draft, you grade them at, you know, having I personally thought they had the best draft, you know, overall from what they did and then what they continue to do, the moves they’re making. Um, it’s just really Boston Celtics like, you know, in a sense of like taking some some chances on some young guys. um you know getting these high picks and trying to you know get a Jason Tatum, get Jaylen Brown hopefully and see if they grow into you know something that want to be there but also too keep yourself available to be able to get free agents, get that guy if need be, get those right veteran guys and so um you know the Jazz are doing a great job. They’re doing an amazing job. You know when you look at like with Danny like when you watch Danny history you notice that he’s very strategic. He’s playing chess. he’s not playing checkers, you know, and the way he made his move to go get Ace and the way he’s able to pull off Walter and way and then how he moved other pieces to to to make room for those guys to play is is really important too, you know. So, I thought you thought put together a group of like youthful guys kind of like mirroring like OKC because Walter was talking about how right you know he could be the oldest at 24 going to be 25 on the roster and this will be his first year and uh you just look at how they pieced it up when they got a true point guard when it got a true score. But, you know, like for me, some of the the the the surprise picks in the draft was like uh Hansen from China. And so, like Hansen right now is giving everybody in the summer league that business. And you know, I me and D was having a conversation early on. As soon as Hansen got here, I was like, “Bro, think I could whip up some with it.” You know, we first of all, you got to be in the best shape of your life. And in order to be a professional athlete, you got to be in the best shape of your life. And I think that opens up the other potential that you can showcase. But because if you’re not in shape, you can’t compete. What did you see with Big Henson that you that you immediately, you know, because I we saw him in China and he was still developing as he still is now, but obviously coming over here having a year under his belt. What did you see in him to to let you know he was going to be a firstrounder? Well, number one, how coachable he was? And there’s a he’s still learning English. So, you know, there’s a language barrier there, but for him learning and being a student, he was learning how to communicate with me and the staff to execute the things we were wanting. Then number two, when I seen him in China, we look I looked at him being more of a slower player, but then once I got to working with him, I realized he was fast in places that he needed to be fast in. And that’s more important than just being fast. Yeah. And and so a lot of times I’m like, “Oh, you’re just not in shape to do what you want to do.” And then the third and most important thing as a big was his ability to pass. And I was like, “You can you seen that?” And so when you look at his hand eye coordination, he he understands floor mapping. He understands how to score, but he’s actually a guy that can pass, shoot, dribble, and make the team better. So, when you’re watching him in summer league, that’s what I seen off the field. D right, he a lot of of his talent reminds me of Wayne ZZ Dodger. Oh, really? I mean, Dodger had a great feel of the game. He he could pass the ball. Obviously, he had great touch. Yeah. Um and he was a very smart player. He wasn’t fast. And so when I watch Young Fellow right now, I’m like, “Oh, he kind of reminds me of that kind of like similar style of what Wayne had.” Yeah. Yeah. Dogger was a deal. I’m excited to see uh that young Portland squad because they got a lot of centers over there now. So that goes back to taking the best available, you know, player in the draft. We talk about getting drafted and drafting guys. um take a chance and get the big fella, you know, to add to another group of of bigs. It’s going to be something where they could create some some competition, some friendly competition there, have those guys really fight and try to, you know, get an opportunity to get on the court. But man, you need bigs anyway in this league. You need bigs. We seen it with OKC what having bigs will do to your organization and team. And uh yeah, and I I definitely want to touch on the Ace Bailey situation, too. Uh, I don’t believe everything I read. Uh, you know, some stuff is true, some stuff be false. So, I’m giving him the benefit of doubt. But I’m glad that, you know, from day one he got in the gym and showed his excitement to be in Utah because you know me, you know how I am. When I hear something, I’m like, “Come on, dog. Go do what you got to do. Get the right you like what we doing.” I would have been excited. I’m going to Utah. I’m the number I’m number five pick. I’mma do my research. trouble. I need D Way number. I want to talk to D. Wayade, you know, I want to I want to build a relationship with him and uh you know, just the the other good players that come through Utah and stuff like that, too. How to how to navigate through this league and how to be a professional. So, I just think it’s a lot of benefits for for Ace Bailey being a Utah man. So, really looking forward to him. I like him. I think he’s a highle talent. He can score three levels. Um, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how you transition. Yeah, I love how you said that, D. I think the one thing that’s important to understand when you think about the Utah Jazz is you’re watching a a organization that is actually trying to position themselves. And it’s a lot of organizations out here that have not figured out how to do that. And so you’re a young guy and you see an organization that’s actually trying to build championship habits, trying to become an organization that people want to come to. Let’s Okay, we going we’re going to we’re going to create this whole universe in Utah that has never been there before. We’re going to actually do things that hasn’t been done and we’ve watching them do it. Right. Allstar weekend in Utah was one of the best Allstars that we’ve had. Um, and so I think if you’re a young guy and you see that, that has to be that has to be seen as the perfect situation for you to come in because you need time as well to grow, to develop your game, and to evolve yourself. And so to find an organization that is actually moving this direction, you want to move with it, not an organization that’s moving this direction or that’s just been stuck right here for so long, right? And so I think those guys, you know, looking at the Utah Jazz, looking at all the moves and and just high level of how the organization is um you know, uh is standing how what they stand for in in the community of Utah is you got to get to know it first. And I think a lot of people just like OKC not all the players free agents want to just go to OKC, right? But when you build a culture, you build a culture of winning, um, people will go. And so, Utah trying to build a culture of winning. So, those guys are in a great a great situation.

Dwyane Wade, Dorell Wright, Bob, and Chris Johnson break down the Utah Jazz’s bold pick of Ace Bailey, the hidden potential of Big Henson, and how the organization is building a winning culture. From draft reactions to developmental insights, the crew dives into what makes Utah a serious contender for the future.