Jazz Reportedly Interested In Ty Jerome
The Jazz are among the teams hoping to sign free agent guard Ty Jerome, league sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.
The Cavaliers would prefer to keep the 27-year-old shooting guard, who’s coming off the best season of his career. However, they made several moves this week that indicate they might be preparing for his departure.
Cleveland added backcourt depth on Saturday by agreeing to a trade that will send Isaac Okoro to Chicago in exchange for Lonzo Ball. The Cavs also drafted Duke guard Tyrese Proctor with the 49th pick on Thursday and reached an early free agent agreement with guard Sam Merrill.
Cleveland is currently projected to have a payroll well above the second apron in 2025/26. A new contract with Jerome would result in significant luxury tax penalties.
Utah, which is in the market for experienced backcourt help, looks like a natural suitor. Sources tell Afseth that Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, who are both entering the final year of their contracts, are considered to be trade candidates this summer. He adds that the team has “explored scenarios” involving both players.
Afseth also points out that the Jazz opted to pass on point guard Jeremiah Fears in the draft, even though they had expressed interest in him during the pre-draft process. They took forward Ace Bailey instead, which leaves an opportunity to upgrade the backcourt through trades or free agency.
Jerome was a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year honors after averaging 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 70 games.
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.
RJ Luis Signs Two-Way Contract With Jazz
July 7: Luis’ two-way deal with Utah is now official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
June 26: Free agent wing RJ Luis has agreed to a two-way contract with the Jazz, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).
Luis, who reportedly turned down lucrative NIL offers to return to college, didn’t hear his name called tonight in the second round, making him an unrestricted free agent. He was ranked No. 56 on ESPN’s big board prior to the draft and was No. 58 on Sam Vecenie of The Athletic‘s board.
The St. John’s standout was named Big East Player of the Year and was a second-team All-American in 2025 following a breakout junior season in which he averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 35 games for the Red Storm (31.8 minutes per contest).
At 6’6″ with a 6’10.5″ wingspan, Luis has good size for a wing and is viewed as a strong defender. However, he didn’t score the ball efficiently — his shooting slash line was .439/.336/.747 (.525 TS) — and there are question marks about how his offensive game will translate to the NBA.
Luis, 22, will fill one of Utah’s three two-way spots. Assuming it goes through as planned, the signing will be finalized in July.
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.”
Draft Notes: Second-Round Mocks, Round-One Winners, Trades
With round one of the 2025 NBA draft in the books, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo look ahead to what to expect on day two on Thursday, sharing an updated 29-pick mock draft covering the second round.
ESPN’s duo is projecting the Timberwolves to kick off the evening by nabbing Saint Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming at No. 31, with Stanford big man Maxime Raynaud going to the Celtics at No. 32, and the Hornets drafting Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and French forward Noah Penda with their picks at No. 33 and No. 34.
Still, Givony and Woo acknowledge that we’ll likely see plenty of draft-pick movement on Thursday, potentially involving one or more of those first few selections — Givony singles out the Hornets as a team to watch, noting that the club already added a pair of rookies on Wednesday (Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley) and may not want to add two more to their roster at the start of the second round.
Addressing their favorite under-the-radar prospects to keep an eye on during the second round, Givony mentions Penda as an ideal draft-and-stash target for a playoff team drafting in the 30s, though the 20-year-old would likely prefer to come stateside right away. Woo, meanwhile, suggests Florida State wing Jamir Watkins could be a perfect win-now fit for a team in the 30s. ESPN’s mock has him going to the Pacers at No. 38.
Here’s more on the 2025 draft as we prepare for Thursday evening’s second round:
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has also shared an updated mock draft for the second round that starts with Fleming to Minnesota and Raynaud to Boston. Vecenie has the Hornets nabbing Sion James and Kalkbrenner, with Penda going to the Nets at No. 36 and Watkins sliding to the Cavaliers at No. 49.
- A panel of ESPN experts, including Givony and Woo, breaks down the biggest winners, most surprising moves, and best picks from day one of the draft. ESPN’s experts liked the Suns taking Khaman Maluach at No. 10, the Spurs getting Carter Bryant at No. 14, and the Heat nabbing Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 20, but questioned the Pelicans‘ decision to give up a valuable unprotected 2026 first-round pick to move up 10 spots to take Derik Queen at No. 13.
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports isn’t as high on the Jakucionis pick for the Heat, giving them a D+, his lowest grade for any of the top 30 picks. The Grizzlies, conversely, earned an A++ grade from O’Connor for moving up to snag Washington State’s Cedric Coward at No. 11.
- The price paid by teams like the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Jazz to move up a few spots outside of the top 10 on Wednesday was awfully high, observes John Hollinger of The Athletic. New Orleans and Memphis gave up unprotected future first-round picks to move up 10 and five spots, respectively, with the Grizzlies also surrendering two future second-rounders. The 2026 first-rounder sent from New Orleans to the Hawks is considered a “superfirst” because it’ll be the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks — it’s very possible one of those picks will end up being a pretty high one, Hollinger notes. Utah, meanwhile, didn’t give up a future first, but had to part with three second-round picks to move up just three spots from No. 21 to No. 18.
Wizards Trade No. 18 Pick Walter Clayton Jr. To Jazz
11:46 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Jazz.
9:17 pm: After drafting Ace Bailey fifth overall earlier in the evening, the Jazz have traded up to No. 18 and used their second first-round pick of the night on Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Washington is acquiring the Nos. 21 and 43 picks in the 2025 draft and a pair of future second-rounders in the deal, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those future second-rounders are picks in 2031 and 2032, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Wizards used the 21st pick to select Illinois wing Will Riley.
Clayton, a 6’3″ guard, is coming off a memorable senior season. He was a consensus first-team All-American, earned a spot on the All-SEC first team, and led the Gators to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and then a national title.
Clayton had a handful of big games in the NCAA tournament, racking up 30 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and 34 against Auburn in the Final Four. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after registering 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in the championship game against Houston.
A Florida native, Clayton averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on the season, with a strong .448/.386/.875 shooting line.
This will be the third consecutive year in which the Jazz have used a first-round pick on a guard. Clayton will join a backcourt that features 2023’s 16th overall pick Keyonte George and 2024’s 29th overall pick Isaiah Collier, along with veterans Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, though there’s no guarantee all of those players will still be on the roster by the time the season begins this October.
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.
John Collins Picks Up $26.5MM Player Option
Jazz big man John Collins has exercised his $26.5MM player option for next season, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). He faced a Thursday deadline for the decision, as our tracker shows.
Collins averaged 19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds this season, but he was limited to 40 games and didn’t return after suffering a left ankle sprain on March 12. Utah held out several veteran players late in the season to improve its lottery odds, so Collins may have been able to play under different circumstances.
The player option represents the final season of a five-year deal Collins signed in 2021 when he was still with the Hawks. Atlanta traded him to the Jazz in 2023, and he has been a consistent starter during his two seasons in Utah.
Trade speculation has been swirling around Collins and other Jazz players, and it’s likely to continue now that his status for next season is certain. His name was also frequently mentioned around February’s trade deadline, including a potential swap with Sacramento.
Collins and Lauri Markkanen ($46.4MM) will be Utah’s highest-paid players next season, and new president of basketball operations Austin Ainge may not want to spend so heavily on two power forwards. The results of tonight’s draft, where the Jazz hold picks No. 5, 21, 43 and 53, could also affect Collins’ future.
Collins, 27, was selected by Atlanta with the 19th pick in the 2017 draft. He has appeared in 472 total games and has career averages of 16.0 points and 8.1 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per night.
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.