3:30 pm: Bailey plans to report to the Jazz on Saturday, a team representative confirms to Givony.
“We’ve had good communication with Ace Bailey and his representatives,” that team rep told ESPN. “We feel good about everything. Ace and his family are coming to Utah tomorrow. We’ll have a press conference Sunday, and a practice Monday.”
2:00 pm: A Thursday report indicated that Ace Bailey‘s representatives advised at least one team with a top-five pick not to draft him. However, Jazz vice president of player development Avery Bradley didn’t sound concerned on Thursday night about the possibility that Utah is that team or that the No. 5 overall pick won’t report for Summer League training camp next week, per Tony Jones of The Athletic.
“For me, it is my understanding that all of our draft picks will be here this weekend and preparing for Summer League,” Bradley said, per Tony Jones of The Athletic, before going on to address the rumors that Utah wasn’t one of Bailey’s preferred landing spots.
“… I think there is always going to be outside noise. But Ace’s dream was to get drafted, and he’s blessed to have been drafted by the Utah Jazz. We are excited to have him. We are excited to get him here and excited to get him a part of our family, so he can begin to show who he is as a player.”
An unorthodox pre-draft process – Bailey was believed to be the only prominent U.S. player who didn’t visit any NBA teams before the draft – led to widespread speculation that representatives for the former Rutgers wing were angling to get him to a certain destination and avoiding certain others — including, possibly, Utah.
That speculation has since been fueled by a couple factors. For one, Bailey’s primary representative and manager Omar Cooper spoke to Jonathan Givony and Tim Bontemps about his client’s lack of pre-draft workouts for ESPN’s story on Thursday, but declined to comment when asked about the Jazz or Bailey’s future with the team.
Comments made by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst during a late-night SportsCenter appearance (YouTube link) after round two on Thursday also raised some eyebrows.
“(Bailey) did not go to Utah today. Walter Clayton, their other first-round draft pick, did go to Utah today,” Windhorst said. “Now the Jazz have said that’s not an issue. They allow their new players to go home. But he will be expected to be there on Monday when their Summer League training camp begins. So, let’s see.
“One thing I will tell you with confidence: (Jazz CEO) Danny Ainge and his son (president of basketball operations) Austin (Ainge) are not going to bend here. They’re not going to get pushed around. They do not care what the situation might bring. So the idea that they are going to pressure the Jazz into something, I don’t think will be successful for Ace Bailey and his operation. But let’s see how the next 72 hours plays out.”
During that SportsCenter hit and in a subsequent appearance on Friday’s episode of ESPN’s Get Up (YouTube link), Windhorst made it clear he believes Bailey will report to the Jazz sooner or later, even if Utah wasn’t at the top of his wish list. The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t give the 18-year-old much leverage, and if he were to hold out, he’d be jeopardizing a first-year salary worth a projected $9.07MM.
Appearing on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show on Thursday (YouTube link), Jazz owner Ryan Smith indicated he was sympathetic to Bailey’s desire to end up elsewhere, but believes the young forward will come around on Utah once he visits for the first time and becomes part of the Jazz.
“Naturally, he doesn’t have a lot of experience out west here with Utah,” Smith said (hat tip to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune). “That’s our job to make him love it. I’m confident in our state and he’ll feel love like he’s never felt before. And the reality is, there is nothing Ace and others can’t accomplish here.
“… I think the picture is our head can lead us to a really weird spot,” Smith continued. “It limits all the opportunities in front of us. It is natural to feel uncomfortable. I think if you went down the entire draft board and said, ‘What is everyone’s preferred destination?’ It is probably not the right move for them that they think it is in their head.”
For what it’s worth, nothing Bailey said during his draft interviews on Wednesday suggested he was unhappy about being drafted by Utah, so if there’s any resistance to the Jazz pick, it may be coming from his representation — or at least one faction of his representation, since there are a few cooks in the kitchen.
Cooper has been acting as Bailey’s de facto lead rep, but he’s not an NBA-certified agent. Adie Von Gontard (Young Money APAA) and Daniel Green (GSE Worldwide), who work for two different firms, are officially listed as Bailey’s agents.
Another one of Bailey’s representatives, Andrew Witlieb, the president of sports marketing at GSE Worldwide, said on Thursday’s episode of Front Office Sports Today (YouTube link) that his client is “absolutely” excited to play for the Jazz.
“He’s thrilled to be going to Utah,” Witlieb said. “… We think he can do a lot of great things out there. He certainly should get a ton of playing time, and he’ll have a lot of chances to show what he can do. We think it’s a great situation for him basketball-wise.”
The Jazz will be participating in the Salt Lake City Summer League beginning on July 5, prior to the Las Vegas Summer League on July 10. So it shouldn’t be long before we find out whether this situation escalates further or turns into a non-story.
If he’s good he’ll just be the next Shaq and play his rookie deal out and then go play where he wants.
When was the last time that happened?
Shaq did that 30 years ago, before the modern CBA. Time have changed.
He can’t do it in this CBA. If he doesn’t sign an extension after his rookie deal with Utah, he will become a restricted free agent. Utah will have the right of first refusal and will be able to match any contract he signs with another team.
The best players sign 5-year extensions, making it 9 years with the team.
When Utah finished bottom in the NBA, they probably didn’t think they’d drop to 5 in the lottery and would have to deal with this kind of nonsense.
Maybe but if you think a player cannot cause havoc for a franchise, you are sadly underestimating the leverage a player can have.
We live in the world of social media. A player can make life hell for a franchise, so he better be great or Utah is in trouble.
However, I think the Jazz will find a way to get him on board.
I do think its naive to think a player cannot get out of a team if they really want too.
> I do think its naive to think a player cannot get out
> of a team if they really want too.
Has anybody claimed that?
A player doesn’t have to do anything they don’t want to. Some players (see Nerlens Noel) have gone their own way. But as business decisions go, it’s most likely they’ll lose money.
Behaving badly is certainly a way for a player to force their way off a team (see Jimmy Butler). But for a young player on a rookie extension, it’s most likely a business loser long-term.
They didn’t have RFA when Shaq did that. If Ace is good he will be there 5 years minimum. He would need to not sign extension, sign the 1year rfa offer and then he can be a fa the next year. Most teams will probably still be in cap hell though.
So it’s 5 years until he can leave if he really does hate it in Utah that much, if he is actually good enough to pick where he wants to take max $ after 1 cheap season, and if that’s even available to him. Lots of Ifs and $ lost burning multiple team bridges before he’s even in the league too I’m sure.
I bet do not believe there is a modern example of a rookie turning down a max extension offer. Like the others have stated, the more recent CBAs make it much harder for young players to change teams early in their careers without sacrificing 10s of millions of dollars. Possibly 100s if they suffer a serious injury during their rfa year. Look at Zion as a prime recent example. Everyone knew he didn’t want to land in Nola and wanted the Knicks to win the lottery. He wanted to play in a big market but he signed that rookie extension real quick
Shaq was happy in Orlando until he had to share the spotlight with Penny.
Weird how they issue a statement like that right after drafting him.
Can’t believe Ainge drafted him knowing he didn’t want to be there. Jazz is where careers go to die.
You can’t make anyone love Utah, not with the laws on the books there.
One thing I will tell Windbag with confidence: Ainge being willing to deal with this nonsense, and impose it on his team, for a marginally better prospect (and ill-fitting piece) just suggests that UTH still has no plans to try to win games any time soon, and he needs some cause to pass the time.
Bailey screams prima donna. I would never have drafted him.