Ace Bailey’s reps told team with top-5 pick not to draft Rutgers wing: Report

In the lead-up to the NBA Draft, Ace Bailey’s representatives told a team with a top-five pick not to select the Rutgers wing — and that Bailey wouldn’t report to the organization if it drafted him anyway — according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Tim Bontemps.

ESPN’s report doesn’t disclose which team in the top five Bailey’s reps wanted to steer clear of the 6-foot-8 freshman.

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The Utah Jazz ended up picking Bailey No. 5 overall. The Jazz’s new president of basketball operations, Austin Ainge, spoke with reporters Wednesday night and expressed excitement about landing a prospect of Bailey’s caliber despite owning only the fifth selection after entering the lottery tied for the best No. 1 pick odds.

“He’s great,” Ainge said of Bailey, via ESPN. “We were able to speak with him. He was super excited. We’re super excited. We’re expecting a very bright future. His scoring gets a lot of attention, [and] deservedly so. He’s very skilled for his size. But watching a lot of film on him, I was impressed with his defensive effort and particularly his rebounding. Lot of weak-side block shots, and his joy and energy for the game.”

Ainge, the son of longtime Boston Celtics executive and current Jazz CEO and alternate governor Danny Ainge, added: “We do a lot of background calls and work on guys, and everyone loves being around Ace.”

Bailey, along with Florida guard and reigning national champion Walter Clayton Jr., is the latest newcomer to join a Jazz roster littered with youth.

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“I fit in good because we all young, so we all got a lot to learn,” Bailey said, via The Athletic. “We can play with each other, get to know each other, how we play, how we fit in, what works, and then also, I don’t know a lot about Utah, but I’m learning as we go.

“I know it’s cold and it’s hot. It get cold, and it get hot here. Gotta find me a place with a good heater.”

As for the other four teams in the top five, the Dallas Mavericks kicked off the draft by making Duke forward Cooper Flagg the youngest No. 1 overall pick since LeBron James in 2003. Then the San Antonio Spurs grabbed Bailey’s Rutgers teammate, guard Dylan Harper, with the No. 2 overall pick.

Those two picks could have been written in Sharpie days before the draft.

Things got interesting at No. 3, where the Philadelphia 76ers sat Wednesday night. Bailey, who chose not to participate in workouts with individual teams before the draft, notably canceled a scheduled visit with the Sixers earlier this month.

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Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told reporters Wednesday night that Bailey’s refusal to work out for the team didn’t play a part in Philadelphia’s decision to pick Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe.

At No. 4 overall, the Charlotte Hornets drafted Duke wing Kon Knueppel.

Bailey was the only U.S.-based prospect who didn’t meet with a single team outside of the scouting combine.

“Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago,” Bailey’s agent, Omar Cooper, told ESPN, referencing the NBA combine. “He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements.”

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Cooper continued: “No one said anything when Davion Mitchell canceled a workout with the Toronto Raptors. No one criticized Evan Mobley when he didn’t work out for Cleveland, and they drafted him anyway.”

“There is nothing uncommon about how Ace Bailey’s pre-draft process was handled.”

Approaching the draft, ESPN’s Givony reported that the Washington Wizards (held the No. 6 overall pick), the New Orleans Pelicans (held the No. 7 overall pick) and the Brooklyn Nets (held the No. 8 overall pick) were preferred destinations for Bailey and his camp. The Wizards, in particular, were a popular landing spot for Bailey in mock drafts, including in Kevin O’Connor’s for Yahoo Sports.

Bailey said Wednesday night he had “no idea” the Jazz were interested in drafting him, but Utah still took him with the No. 5 overall pick.