Northwest Notes: Bailey, Jazz Fine, Nuggets’ Clutch Play, Cissoko

Ace Bailey knows there are some negative perceptions surrounding his game and his approach to the 2025 Draft, but behind the scenes, coaches and players sing a different tune, Kevin Reynolds writes for the Salt Lake City Tribune.

“If anybody calls about Ace Bailey, I f—ing call back right away,” said Steve Pikiell, Bailey’s coach at Rutgers. “I’ve been coaching 42 years, and he’s as good of a kid I’ve had.”

Pikiell adds that he believed that certain teams that had been heavily scouting him and then fell in the lottery might have helped contribute to some of the negative narratives surrounding him on draft night.

Now with the Jazz, Reynolds writes that Bailey has rewarded Utah’s faith in him on an interpersonal level.

“He’s such a great kid, man. Off the court, he’s such a joy. On the court, he’s putting it together,” former teammate Kyle Anderson said. “I didn’t pay attention to the noise during the draft process, but I’m glad to see that really hasn’t surfaced.”

While he has learned to fit into Utah’s lockerroom, the coaching staff has worked to make sure he plays a role that will benefit him the most long-term.

“We want to help him get through this season and be a way better player than when he started,” coach Will Hardy said. “I’m not pro Ace just bombing away to get stats and clicks.”

The strategy seems to be working, as Bailey has played some of his best basketball of late, averaging 15.0 points and 5.4 rebounds since mid-January.

We have more from around the Northwest Division:

• The Jazz were furious about being fined $500K by the NBA, Tony Jones reports for The Athletic, as they believe they were singled out for a widespread practice among tanking teams of resting players in key situations (subscriber link). Jones writes that while Utah has tanked for several years, they had plans to make at least one substantial win-now trade, which fell through when the player’s agent informed them that he would rather play elsewhere.
• The Nuggets currently have a disconcerting trend going: they are falling apart in clutch situations, and it only seems to have gotten worse with Nikola Jokic back, Bennett Durando writes for the Denver Post. Denver is 26th in clutch net rating at -9.9, and the number falls to -19.3 when Jokic is playing. Coach David Adelman acknowledged the issue and said he’s looking to add wrinkles to get Jokic and Jamal Murray easier looks while Aaron Gordon is out and not occupying his usual area in the dunker spot. “We’re trying to maintain who we are, playing the two-man game without the things that matter behind it,” Adelman said. “Like, if we play a two-man game with Aaron Gordon, it’s a very different rotation (in help defense) for teams. So you don’t want to scrap something that you know you’re gonna do (in the playoffs), and you’re pre-supposing that those guys are gonna be out there. … We have to figure out a way to finish games when teams are full-rotating to (Jokic and Murray). Sometimes three guys, sometimes four.” Durando notes that the sample of clutch games with Jokic playing is small, but it can still impact the playoff race.
• The Trail Blazers recently promoted Sidy Cissoko to a standard contract. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype notes (via Twitter) that this year is fully guaranteed while next season is non-guaranteed. To sign him, the Blazers had to waive Rayan Rupert, Cissoko’s best friend on the team, making the move bittersweet, writes Sean Highkin of the Rose City Report (subscriber link). “For me, it’s tough because he’s the guy that helped me with everything when I got here. I’ve got a lot of experience with him,” Cissoko said. “We’ve played together since we were 16 or 17.” As for Cissoko, the move is just one step in his goals to play in the NBA for over a decade. “I’ve done great by being myself,” he said. “I’m not going to change because of my contract. It’s the same Sidy. I’m going to play the same way.”