Jazz Say Ace Bailey Will Report To Team On Saturday
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.
Latest On Ace Bailey
Ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, Ace Bailey‘s representatives told a team with a top-five pick that they didn’t want that club to draft him and that he wouldn’t report to the club if it selected him, sources tell Jonathan Givony and Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
ESPN’s report doesn’t name the specific team in question, but it seems relatively safe to assume it wasn’t the Mavericks or Spurs, who were always locked in on Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, respectively. That leaves the Sixers at No. 3, the Hornets at No. 4, and the Jazz – the team that ultimately drafted Bailey – at No. 5.
While it’s unclear if the Jazz were the team out of those three told not to draft Bailey, an earlier report from Bontemps indicated Utah wasn’t on his list of preferred destinations.
Bailey, a former Rutgers wing, made waves leading up to Wednesday due to his unusual approach to the pre-draft process. He canceled a scheduled visit to Philadelphia last week and was believed to be the only prominent U.S. player who didn’t visit any team before the draft.
That strategy led rival teams to speculate that his camp was angling to get him to a specific destination – possibly the Wizards at No. 6 – but Bailey’s agent Omar Cooper contended that there wasn’t anything unusual about his client’s pre-draft activities, according to Givony and Bontemps.
“Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago,” Cooper told ESPN. “He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical (info). They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements.
“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.”
Although Cooper declined to answer questions from ESPN about the Jazz specifically, Bailey suggested on draft night that he wasn’t trying to steer himself to a certain destination, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.
“No, I’m just focused on the basketball part. I had nothing to do with that,” Bailey said, adding that he’s learning about the Jazz and preparing to travel to Utah for the first time. “… I fit in good because we all young, so we all got a lot to learn. 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 a good heater.”
Bailey also made it clear that he has big-time goals for his first NBA season in 2025/26.
“I definitely want to win Rookie of the Year,” he said, according to Vorkunov. “Definitely want to be an All-Star my rookie year. I want to do a lot.”
Northwest Notes: Bailey, Brown, Yang, Beringer
The Jazz weren’t on Ace Bailey‘s list of preferred destinations heading into Wednesday night’s draft, sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bailey didn’t hold any pre-draft workouts as he was reportedly trying to manipulate the process to end up with a team that could offer him guaranteed playing time and a large role in the offense. The Wizards were believed to be interested at No. 6, but Utah selected him one pick earlier.
“We really like him as a player and a fit in our program,” president of basketball operations Austin Ainge said.
The selection ended a controversial pre-draft process for the talented Rutgers forward, who was viewed as a top-three pick when the college basketball season wrapped up. Bailey called off a scheduled visit to Philadelphia last week and was believed to be the only prominent U.S. player who didn’t visit any team before the draft. He said he had “no idea” the Jazz were interested in taking him.
“I feel like once I come in, it’s going to be a lot of work,” Bailey said. “I feel like I’m a person that likes to work out a lot. I’m going to push my teammates to be the best they can be. I want to come in and be a leader as a young cat.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- At a post-draft press conference, Ainge dismissed rumors that the Jazz have been involved in trade talks with the Celtics regarding Jaylen Brown, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. There are some obvious connections, as Ainge recently left Boston for Utah, and his father, Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, drafted Brown when he was running the Celtics. “I don’t like to confirm or deny rumors, just as a policy, but I will this time,” Austin Ainge told reporters (Twitter link). “No, that hasn’t happened. No conversations that way.”
- Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin monitored Hansen Yang for nearly two years before selecting him with the 16th pick, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Cronin acknowledged the pick was “unconventional,” per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link), but views the 7’2″ center, who was the Chinese Basketball Association’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, as a project who’s worth investing in. “His ceiling is very high,” Cronin said. “It’s extremely difficult to find a young player of that stature with this skill set. And it’s translatable stuff that we’ve seen really, really skilled big men that can do all the things that he can do, typically succeed in our league. Yeah, it might take him a little time, but as he figures out the speed and pace of our game, I wouldn’t put a ceiling on him. He’s that talented.” Cronin added that the Blazers weren’t comfortable trading down farther than the 16th pick because they believed other teams were eyeing Yang as well.
- Timberwolves general manger Matt Lloyd told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic that several team officials flew to Chicago over the weekend for a private workout with Joan Beringer. After talking to the French center and seeing him in action, the group was convinced that he was perfect for the franchise if he remained on the board at No. 17. “Joan is one of those rare cases where the best player available also had a fit,” Lloyd said. “And we were sweating it. … It was a long night of waiting.”
Sixers’ Morey Discusses Embiid’s Recovery, Edgecombe Pick
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening after using the No. 3 overall pick to select Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey provided a positive update on star center Joel Embiid, writes Dan Gelston of The Associated Press.
According to Gelston, Morey indicated that Embiid – who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April – is on track to be recovered “right around” the time training camp opens in late September, suggesting the team is encouraged by the big man’s recovery progress so far.
“He’s very engaged, attacking rehab,” Morey said. “Doing everything he can to be out there. He had a meeting with (the surgeon) this week. All things, to use a NASA term, are nominal. Things are going well and expected and we expect that to continue.”
Embiid’s left knee has been an issue since midway through the 2023/24 season, when he underwent surgery to address a meniscus injury. He was able to return that spring and played in the Olympics during the summer, but he continued to deal with swelling in the knee in the fall. The injury delayed his season debut until November 12 and prevented him from ever getting fully comfortable during the ’24/25 campaign.
Here are a few more highlights from Morey’s media session:
- The Sixers already have rising star Tyrese Maxey, promising 2024 first-rounder Jared McCain, and restricted free agent Quentin Grimes in their backcourt, but didn’t hesitate to add another young guard to the mix on Wednesday when they drafted Edgecombe. “I think we now have one of the best backcourts in the league,” Morey said, per Tony Jones of The Athletic. “When you look at some of these teams that are successful, they all have multiple guards.”
- While Edgecombe’s athleticism and defense figure to get him on the court in his rookie year, he intends to do all he can to help out the Sixers’ stars on the offensive end of the court too, as Jones relays. “I’m really focused on trying to shoot the ball at a high level,” Edgecombe said on Wednesday. “My job is going to be trying to release pressure on Joel, Paul (George), and Tyrese.”
- Here’s more from Morey on Edgecombe, per Jones: “We’re super excited about V.J. and that we got the chance to draft him. He’s a dynamic athlete. We think he’s one of the best athletes in the draft. We think he has a chance to be a potential All-Star, and he’s going to be a two-way player coming into the league. He has a lot of winning qualities, and we think he is going to be a really good fit. We think he is going to be a great teammate.”
- Edgecombe appeared to become the favorite for the No. 3 pick after Ace Bailey cancelled a scheduled workout with the Sixers, but Morey said on Wednesday that Bailey’s refusal to work out for Philadelphia didn’t factor into the club’s draft decision, tweets Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.
Jazz Pick Ace Bailey Fifth Overall
The Jazz have selected Rutgers forward Ace Bailey with the fifth overall pick in the draft.
There’s no trade in the works, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that Utah intends to hang onto Bailey.
Bailey’s situation had been one of the most popular subjects of speculation in the weeks leading up to the draft. While he was widely considered the third-best prospect in this year’s class by draft experts, he canceled a workout with the Sixers at No. 3 and declined invitations to visit other teams in the top half of the lottery, fueling speculation that his agents were trying to steer him to a preferred destination.
Rumors leading up to the draft suggested that Bailey might be trying to get to a team on the East Coast, such as Washington at No. 6 or Brooklyn at No. 8. Instead, he’ll begin his NBA career in Utah.
Bailey played alongside No. 2 pick Dylan Harper at Rutgers in 2024/25. The 6’8″ forward averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 33.3 minutes per game across 30 contests (all starts), registering a .460/.346/.692 shooting line.
Bailey, who will turn 19 in August, is considered one of the best scorers in this year’s draft and brought a “high level of intensity” on the defensive end as a freshman, per Givony. While there have been questions about his maturity, Bailey has the potential to be as impactful on the court as anyone in the 2025 draft.
Bailey’s high ceiling is crucial for the Jazz, who don’t have any obvious future All-Stars or franchise cornerstones among their players on rookie scale contracts and finished with a league-worst 17-65 record in 2024/25. Despite entering lottery night with the best odds of any team to land a top-four pick, Utah fell to No. 5 — having drafted Bailey, the Jazz were still able to add a prospect with legitimate star-level upside.
Fischer’s Latest: Sixers, Bailey, Edgecombe, Fears, Maluach, More
The Sixers are expected to make one last attempt to trade up to No. 2 for the chance to draft Dylan Harper, but it’s not likely to be successful, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Fischer believes the Spurs have decided they want Harper to be part of their future and haven’t given serious consideration to parting with the pick.
Fischer adds that the most likely scenario is for the Sixers to stay at No. 3 unless there’s a sharp improvement in the offers from other teams. He also suggests that Ace Bailey remains in contention to be selected, even though he canceled a workout in Philadelphia and has sent out signals that he would rather be selected by a team that could offer guaranteed playing time and a larger role in the offense. Fischer still considers Bailey to be a strong fit alongside Joel Embiid and Paul George because of his shooting skills, but he acknowledges that V.J. Edgecombe is the “likely top contender” to go to Philadelphia.
If Bailey does get bypassed by the Sixers, Fischer doesn’t expect him to fall farther that the Wizards at No. 6. League sources tell him that Bailey declined a chance to work out for the Jazz, and it’s believed that he didn’t have an official visit with any of the lottery teams. Fischer points out that Washington meets Bailey’s requirements as a team that could offer “a healthy shot profile and on-ball creation opportunities.”
Fischer shares more inside information as the draft draws closer:
- The Nets are likely to pounce on point guard Jeremiah Fears if he’s still on the board at No. 8, Fischer states, noting that rumors of his preference for Brooklyn date back to the Draft Combine. Fears made visits to Utah and New Orleans, and Fischer believes his range appears to start with the fifth pick. Fischer also raises the possibility that the Nets could package some of the five first-rounders they have tonight to move up if they believe another team might select Fears.
- Fischer calls Khaman Maluach “the most consequential domino of the first round” apart from Bailey. He’s considered the top available big man, and Fischer notes that he helped himself with strong performances during the interview process. League sources tell Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports that the Pelicans are expected to try to trade up to land Bailey. If they’re unsuccessful, then Maluach could be their pick at No. 7 if he’s still on the board. O’Connor hears that some lottery teams have Maluach ranked in their top two or three and he’s considered “one of the most popular trade-up targets.”
- Fischer believes the Pelicans mark the start of Derik Queen‘s range if someone else takes Maluach, but he adds that the Spurs may try to trade up from No. 14 for the Duke center, while the Raptors at No. 9 also have him highly rated.
- Cedric Coward has been improving his status throughout the pre-draft process, and Fischer doesn’t expect him to fall past the teens. Sources tell Fischer that Coward has interest from the Trail Blazers at No. 11 and he has worked out multiple times for the Thunder, who hold the 15th pick. Fischer hears that the Nets are hoping to land Coward at No. 19, but they may need to trade up to have a chance.
- NCAA Tournament star Walter Clayton Jr. has “multiple suitors” in the early 20s, according to Fischer. He cites league insiders who believe Clayton and Jase Richardson could be targets for the Kings if they’re able to trade for a pick in that range.
- There’s an expectation that this will be an active trading night, possibly starting with the Sixers at No. 3 and the Hornets at No. 4. “There’s gonna be at least four or five (trades),” a Western Conference team strategist told Fischer.
Draft Notes: Bailey, Johnson, Maluach, Jazz, Raptors
Ace Bailey may be the most polarizing player at the top half of the lottery. Bailey, once projected to go off the board with the No. 2 or 3 pick, could drop a few notches after his unconventional pre-draft approach.
The Wizards, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, are hoping that’s the case. Sources tell Pompey that the Wizards want to select the Rutgers freshman with the sixth pick. Washington hopes that Bailey’s refusal to work out for teams during the pre-draft process will cause to him to fall out of the top five.
Bailey canceled his pre-draft workout with the Sixers after they wouldn’t commit to selecting him third overall.
Here’s more draft-related info:
- Tre Johnson, a top-10 prospect, has worked out for the Hornets, Jazz, Wizards and Nets, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Johnson, a one-and-done who averaged 19.9 points for Texas in his lone college season, is ranked No. 5 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- In their latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have moved Duke center Khaman Maluach into the No. 7 slot, where the Pelicans sit. New Orleans agreed to trade Kelly Olynyk to the Wizards and are in need of more size. The Suns, who acquired the No. 10 pick from the Rockets, are now projected to select Arizona forward Carter Bryant.
- The Jazz currently have four picks in the draft, including the No. 5 selection. Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune gives his preferred selections at each spot in a subscriber-only story. He’s hoping Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe slips to that spot but believes it’s more likely the Jazz will wind up with Johnson.
- Multiple league sources confirmed to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg that the No. 9 pick held by the Raptors is available. Toronto is looking to upgrade its roster with established players who are ready to contribute to a playoff push.
Draft Notes: Spurs, Newell, Hawks, Essengue, More
The Spurs haven’t entirely shut down trade inquiries on the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, but they still seem likely to end up with Dylan Harper themselves, since no team is expected to meet their high asking price, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports writes in his latest mock draft.
“They want a ridiculous haul,” one front office executive told O’Connor. “Far more than I’d expect anyone to give up.”
Elsewhere in O’Connor’s mock draft, he cites league sources who say that Georgia forward Asa Newell, the No. 19 prospect on ESPN’s big board, could end up being a lottery pick — O’Connor has him going to Toronto at No. 9.
O’Connor also hears that the Hawks have been exploring a potential move up from No. 13, having even placed calls to teams picking in the top five. They’re targeting a center, O’Connor adds. Based on earlier reporting from Jake Fischer, it sounds like several teams in the back end of the lottery are in the same boat, as Fischer mentioned Phoenix (No. 10), Chicago (No. 12), and San Antonio (No. 14) as clubs eyeing big men.
Here are a few more draft-related notes from around the league:
- French forward Noa Essengue, a potential lottery pick who ranks ninth overall on ESPN’s board, will miss the conclusion of the German League finals in order to travel to New York for this week’s NBA draft, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. His team, Ratiopharm Ulm, holds a 2-1 lead over Bayern Munich in the best-of-five Basketball Bundesliga championship, though the 18-year-old has been playing a pretty limited role in the series. Essengue’s draft-eligible teammate Ben Saraf has had a bigger hand in Ulm’s two victories and is remaining with the team for Tuesday’s Game 4.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic has published his list of this year’s top 75 draft prospects. While there are no surprises at the very top, Hollinger is higher than the consensus on guys like Collin Murray-Boyles (No. 6), Essengue (No. 7), Thomas Sorber (No. 10), and Saraf (No. 15), with Tre Johnson (No. 11) and Ace Bailey (No. 12) ranked outside of his top 10.
- Law Murray of The Athletic identifies some players that might make sense as targets for the Clippers with their 30th and 51st overall picks this week, including point guards like Saraf and Kameron Jones and centers such as Ryan Kalkbrenner and Maxime Raynaud. Rod Walker of NOLA.com, meanwhile, performs a similar exercise with the Pelicans‘ seventh and 23rd overall picks, suggesting that coming away with a duo like center Khaman Maluach and guard Walter Clayton Jr. would make it a successful draft for the team.
- The Thunder recently worked out potential second-round pick Micah Peavy, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The Georgetown wing ranks 54th on ESPN’s board.
Draft Notes: Latest Mocks, Murray-Boyles, Jakucionis, NIL Impact, Seniors, Team Needs
The latest ESPN mock draft has plenty of guards going in the lottery. Their experts, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, believe that eight guards and/or wings will come off the board within the first 13 picks.
After Cooper Flagg (Mavericks) and Dylan Harper (Spurs), ESPN’s latest mock has guards V.J. Edgecombe (Sixers), Kon Knueppel (Hornets) and Jeremiah Fears (Jazz) rounding out the top five. Ace Bailey, formerly considered a top three pick, slips to the Wizards at No. 6. The Suns, who are acquiring the No. 10 pick from the Rockets, are projected to take South Carolina big man Collin Murray-Boyles.
Here’s more draft-related info:
- In his latest mock draft, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie says he thinks the Sixers trading down from the No. 3 slot remains a real possibility. The Hornets have also had discussions moving both up and down the board from the No. 4 spot, while Texas wing Tre Johnson could be a surprise selection in the top five, Vecenie writes, adding that Johnson could go as high as No. 3.
- Speaking of Murray-Boyles, he worked out for the Trail Blazers over the weekend, as did Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets. ESPN ranks Murray-Boyles at No. 13 overall with Jakucionis at No. 10. Portland owns the No. 11 pick.
- Just 32 non-international early entrants from colleges and other basketball teams or leagues and 14 international players remain in the draft, a dramatic drop-off from recent years. What’s the difference? NIL money has motivated most prospects to stay in college, unless they believe they’ll go in the first round, as Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports details. “If you are not a guaranteed first-round pick, top-20, top-30 guy—unless you really do not want to play college basketball anymore, we are recommending and most of them are staying in school as long as they possibly can,” Michael Raymond, president and founder of Raymond Representation, told Christovich.
- The draft is usually headed by one-and-dones and other underclassmen. However, there are more seasoned college players who will come off the board this year. HoopsHype’s Cyro Asseo de Choch takes a look at the cream of the senior crop.
- The Athletic’s Law Murray breaks down the biggest draft needs for each team, identifying the picks each of those clubs hold.
New York Notes: Toppin, Knicks’ Coaching Search, Nets’ Draft, Demin
The Knicks‘ decision to sell cheaply on Obi Toppin two years ago is looking worse as he plays an important role for the Pacers in the NBA Finals, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News.
After being selected with the eighth pick in the 2020 draft, Toppin had three productive years in New York, but he didn’t appear to have a future while being stuck behind starting power forward Julius Randle. Winfield notes that Randle is now gone, having been traded to Minnesota in October, and Toppin is the type of athletic big man the Knicks need on their bench.
The return from Indiana for Toppin was meager: second-round picks in 2028 and 2029. He has blossomed with the Pacers, averaging 9.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22 playoff games with .497/.333/.694 shooting numbers. Winfield points out that he’s doing it in the exact role the Knicks weren’t sure he could handle, backing up a star power forward in Pascal Siakam.
Winfield also states that Knicks management made a habit of giving up on young talent throughout the Tom Thibodeau era, citing RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes as other examples. Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar and Ariel Hukporti were all added in last year’s draft and James Nnaji may be joining the team soon, but Winfield questions whether they’ll get a chance to prove themselves.
There’s more from New York:
- The Knicks have interviewed Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown in their coaching search while keeping an eye on Jason Kidd‘s situation in Dallas, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link). Bondy suggests that Kidd’s relationship with the Mavericks could deteriorate if he doesn’t receive an extension, so New York hasn’t completely given up hope. A source tells Bondy that the Knicks haven’t requested permission to talk with Cavaliers assistant Johnnie Bryant, who no longer appears to be a priority after looking like an early favorite for the job.
- Sources tell draft expert Rafael Barlowe of The NBA Big Board (subscriber link) that the Nets are “the favorite destination for a lot of prospects — and a lot of agents” (hat tip to Nets Daily). Barlowe explains that Brooklyn is popular because it’s a large market that offers exposure and endorsement opportunities, and there’s a chance for immediate playing time. There has been speculation that Ace Bailey has a desire to join the Nets, and Barlowe hears that Brooklyn is considering a move up into the top five.
- In a separate Nets Daily story, Lucas Kaplan examines the fit of BYU guard Egor Demin, who has been rumored as a possible Nets draft pick.