NBA lottery pick Ace Bailey has gotten off to a rocky start in his NBA career. While his skills and talent are undeniable, his attitude needs an adjustment after trying to rig the draft results to one of his desired teams. After being drafted by the Jazz on Wednesday (begrudgingly), Bailey has reportedly yet to arrive in Utah and has minimal contact with the organization.
“The Jazz were very excited to welcome him to Utah over the weekend and that hasn’t happened yet,” said ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “So he did not go there. Their other first-round pick, Walter Clayton Jr., flew to Utah on Thursday and is getting ready to go. Ace Bailey did not and there’s been minimal contact with him and the team. There’s not a crisis yet. What the Jazz are saying is, he’s not expected in Utah until the weekend and really what he needs to do is be there by Monday when their training camp for Summer League. And if he’s there, no problem, hope his Jazz career gets off to a good start. If he’s not, let’s see what actions go from there.”
Typically, a rookie fresh off the draft will report to their teams right away in order to make introductions, tour the facilities, and make a strong first impression. Bailey, who was nearly moved to tears on draft day, has essentially gone M.I.A. in this process.
Before the draft, Ace made it known that he only wanted to go to a few specific teams (Wizards or Pelicans) and only worked out for one of them. He even threatened not to report to one of the teams in the top five, an unprecedented act of defiance and arrogance by the NBA youngster.
Fortunately, the latest statement from the Jazz portrays optimism on the situation, and they fully expect him to be in town by the weekend.
“We’ve had good communication with Ace Bailey and his representatives,” the Jazz said. “Ace and his family are coming to Utah tomorrow.”
The Jazz are not going to let Bailey’s reputation take a hit without coming to his defense. In their view, he hasn’t done anything wrong, and there’s no reason not to be hopeful about their future together. As long as he’s there in time for Summer League training camp, the Jazz do not anticipate any further problems regarding Ace’s loyalty or availability, even if they knew he would have rather joined other teams.
With head coach Will Hardy and impactful players like Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler, the Jazz already have a solid foundation, and Bailey has a chance to build on that if he can develop into a proper two-way player for them. Whether he wants to be there or not, his NBA future depends on how he embraces this next chapter, and anything other than total acceptance could be catastrophic for his career trajectory.
So far, it looks like Ace is complying with his new reality, and it says a lot about his maturity and perseverance coming into the NBA. With his path now set, Bailey has nowhere to go but forward now and there’s nothing left for him to do but give everything he has on the court for the Utah Jazz.
