Does Ace Bailey FIT with the Jazz? + Walter Clayton: STEAL of the Draft?
most intriguing night was the Utah Jazz yeah they take Ace Bailey with the fifth pick so many questions of what Ace Bailey his destiny was going to be tonight ends up going to Utah where he did not want to go and then they trade up from 21 to 18 with two second round picks to get Walter Clayton who a lot of people expected to go to the Miami Heat with the 20th picking what do you think about Utah’s overall night with what they came away with with Ace Bailey here and Walter Clayton you know we talked about on the show and I I love it i mean I am a huge Walter Clayton fan when you look at some of the shots that he was able to hit when it came down to the NCAA tournament matter of fact all year his sample size was massive but that he had one of the most historic greatest tournament runs that we have seen uh in a very very long time he shoots the ball off the dribble so well particularly from deep which I think is a skill that a lot of guards a lot of college guards do not possess but not only that the range in which he shoots him from I think is elite i think that Walter Clayton is the steel of the draft in the first in in in the in the first round and Ace Bailey I mean we know that he has his flaws however this is a guy that can be a star he has star potential when you look ahead at at how good he can be so I think the Utah Jazz had a really really good night and don’t don’t forget Will Riley who has potential through the roof as well you can just say you called you called Walter Clayton Stephes and and and Vinnie like you took issue with that but esque it’s doing a lot of work but like I I think I think King is fair to say that cuz he was Steph in the tournament he’s not going to necessarily be Steph in the NBA but when you think about shotmaking guard Ace Bailey shot making wing how do you think this fit is for the Jazz in the direction they’re going now with Austin Angel GM is the tank over that’s that’s the question you have to ask the Utah Jazz are you serious about winning now or are you still back in developmental stage we have to keep losing keep losing i’m surprised Walter Kesler is still there like Walker Kesler won’t say Walker Walter Walker Kesler is still there you know what I mean yeah yeah the thinking of oh maybe this will be the time that the Lakers make a trade and they go there and it didn’t happen a lot of teams could use a big absolutely and but once again you’re John Collins picked up his his contract his option and you know Larry Mark and maybe next year’s a bounceback year do you have enough space for all of these elements to grow and for you to be a good to decent team or is it just let’s just going to throw them out there fight for your minutes and we will figure everything else out on the back end i mean to me I think with Ace Bailey it could be a blessing in disguise for him ending up in Utah like I know he it sounds like he wanted to stay on the East Coast uh there’s a lot of talk about him going to the Wizards with the sixth pick and then it was a bit of a surprise he goes to the Jazz for the fifth pick but I think Will Hardy’s a really good head coach i think they get a good system there for him to grow into and there’s you know like you said they’re not good by any means but there’s some veterans lowry Markin John Collins is 27 at this point colin Saxon had a really good year for them like there’s a lot of good quality pieces for him to grow alongside it’s not like he’s going to a team where there’s nothing there i think he’s going to be forced to kind of adapt on this team within their system and I think with Walter Clayton it’s interesting like does it say something about Keonte George you’re a Baylor guy as well does it say something about Isaiah Collier that they go for another guard here and add him to the pile now with all the young guys that they have that haven’t really quite panned out yeah I mean I think Walter Clayton is better than both those guys cuz I think the two things that Yeah I think the shooting is a key aspect but also he’s a winner so you provide winning to a team that desperately needs it because Ace Bailey I mean he’s talented but he is not a winner as of right now he’s not a winner that can grow winning the question so that’s why you covered him last year in college so So that’s why I wish he would have went somewhere like Washington you know being So you don’t like this fit with Utah well it’s not that I don’t like it it’s just that I wish that he had more veterans around him to help him understand how to win i think this is a great place for him to be able to go be a star like a star from day one ace Bailey living up to the hype being a an amazing player but he can be a star but still be a loser at the same time m so I think that he’s in a situation where he can go get buckets he can go take those tough shots but will he ever win anything i don’t know we saw that at Ruters he hit tough shots but he was never ever a winner and I think that is the problem which is why I would have liked to see him around more vets more veteran guys who can teach him how to win cuz I don’t know if he will ever learn how to win especially being in Utah denny there was a lot of talk before the draft that the Wizards really liked Ace Bailey at six were there any other teams that you heard like really connected you know Washington New Orleans at seven were there any like sleepers or anything those Washington New Orleans some people thought that New Orleans might have been engaging in a little subtrafuge there and saying “Hey tank all your stuff and fall down to US because there was no path for New Orleans to get up to five or four.” So yeah that was it but here’s the thing guys we all know the question marks throughout the draft process and his agent and then the losing and you’re not sure like you said were you part of a losing team or are you a losing player that is always the biggest question mark when you have one and done players because you don’t have the large enough sample size to be able to judge and say are you a talented guy that doesn’t contribute to winning are you a guy who influences winning or you a guy who drives winning there’s one driver of winning yeah in this in this draft and probably a couple of influencers
♪ The Utah Jazz select Ace Bailey & Walter Clayton in Round 1 – What Does It Mean for Utah?
The Utah Jazz had one of the most fascinating 2025 NBA Draft nights — landing Ace Bailey at No. 5 and trading up for Walter Clayton Jr. at No. 18. But is this the start of a turnaround or just another rebuild?
Kevin O’Connor, Vincent Goodwill, and King McClure dive deep into Utah’s risky but bold draft strategy, with comparisons flying (Steph?!), questions about Ace Bailey’s fit, and concerns about whether he’s truly a “winner.”
👀 What did you think of Utah’s draft night?
📈 Is Walter Clayton Jr. the biggest steal of the first round?
🏀 Can Ace Bailey become a star… or just a high-volume scorer?
Drop your thoughts in the comments ⬇️
0:00 – Utah drafts Ace Bailey & trades for Walter Clayton Jr.
1:10 – Steph Curry comparison?! Reaction from the crew
3:00 – Ace Bailey’s fit & future with the Jazz
4:10 – Concerns about Bailey’s ability to win
🔗2025 NBA Draft:
Thanks for watching! Subscribe to the Yahoo Sports channel here ► http://bit.ly/YSportsYT
Follow us everywhere!
Our Site ► http://www.yahoosports.com
Instagram ► http://www.instagram.com/yahoosports
TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@yahoosports
Snapchat ► https://www.snapchat.com/add/yahoosports
Twitter ► http://www.twitter.com/yahoosports
Facebook ► http://www.facebook.com/yahoosports
21 Comments
Will Riley went to Washington
King, you really think the Wizards are more of a "winning" culture than the Jazz? Utah almost always makes the playoffs outside of the last few years when they've been intentionally tanking. Jazz coach Will Hardy is a tough coach coming from the winningest programs with the Spurs and Celtics. The Jazz organization is led by a hungry and highly competitive group, led at the top by the Ainge's. No disrespect to the Wizards, but the Jazz will instill a winning mindset into Ace much better than he'd get with the Wizards.
Ace already won. He won at life. I think some people forget about that part!!!
Washington has vets that can teach, give experience and has a winning tradition. LMAO!!🤣🤣
Trump’s return to the United States where he looks sickly and weak after his disastrous trip to NATO where he humiliated his country and praised Iran.
Welcome to Utah Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr, yall, will like it here as time goes 💯🤙🏼 Lets goooo Utah, Lets go get it🔥🏀
I ain’t been hearing nobody saying Dylan Harper not a winner he was on same team Bailey getting all hate is crazy I guess Dylan didn’t play for Rutgers
These shows are all clown shows. Don’t even know what picks Utah got or anything about them. Hire better
really annoyed by all the why is walker kesler still there naritive.. why would the Jazz trade him? who on the team would replace him? it just doesn't make sense unless the jazz get a huge offer. what player in this years draft will be as good as Kesler.. then you iknow the value of what kesler is to utah plus more.
regarding the ace baily never winning in utah because of fets… that's funny.. you think the vets on brookland, NO, or Washington will teach him how to win that Utah can't? zion he's the modle right? it's just nonsense.. Ace will haave a great opertunity the jazz have vets players and the team has professional I mean anny Ainge can tell him how to win lol
He's going to learn to win in Washington?! Are u nuts? The Jazz have a history of winning. The last 3 years are an anomaly.
Either ACE will do his job and play Basketball or he'll be out of the league in 4 years. He is F**king 18 years old. He needs to grow up and wake up. He'll be very good if he has a good attitude.
As a Jazz fan and having lived in Utah over 30 years I can say that many players have gone to Utah over the years and found out they love the state. Very engaged and electric fan base, beautiful state and they put a competitive team on the floor more often than not. It’ll take an adjustment to get used to the state, but it’s a terrific basketball state.
Good show, thanks for the content. I respectfully ask how on earth you can say Washington was a better spot for him? The Jazz, though they haven’t won a title, have one of the best records over the last 30 years in terms of wins and losses and they have an excellent fan base. They have some good vets too. The Wizards are not a winning organization and are terrible year after year.
Ace Bailey (young, immature) is a fool. Utah is a cool state. Ive been in SLC un the past and the ppl are cool especially the younger crowd.
Clayton is a good young man and player, good attitude. Hes a dawg! Similar to Jamal Murray . Jazz did well on the draft.
Here's the deal about Utah in a nutshell, there's not that many brothers and sisters out there point blank!!!
Sixers are going to regret not taking him.
What vets on the wizards are winners?! Lmao. That was the worst take in this whole video.
When you watch guys who dont know Utahs goal.
Walter Clayton will be an all star.
Clayton the best player in the draft a proven winner 2 high school state championships and National Championship a proven winner