The Ace Bailey saga can be put to rest.
After reports and rumors about the 2025 NBA Draft’s No. 5 pick have swirled both pre- and post-selection, the former Rutgers star is on his way to Utah to report to the Jazz.
“We’ve had good communication with Ace Bailey and his representatives,” a team representative told ESPN. “We feel good about everything. Ace and his family are coming to Utah tomorrow.”
Bailey’s process in the lead-up to the draft included turning down workouts and having clear preferred destinations for teams he wanted to be drafted by — the Jazz were reportedly not one of them.
Despite his wishes, Utah decided not to pass up on his talent and selected him with its pick, which led to more questions on whether Bailey would do any more meddling to control his destination.
While fellow Jazz first-rounder Walter Clayton Jr., who also did not work out with the Jazz, flew out to Utah on Thursday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Friday morning that Bailey had “minimal contact” with the team, potentially signaling the Rutgers star not reporting to Salt Lake City.
Bailey’s agent, Omar Cooper, the father of 2021 second-round pick Sharife Cooper, has been at the center of questions regarding the guard’s situation.
But he said earlier this week that Bailey’s situation was not “uncommon.”
“Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago,” Cooper told ESPN earlier this week. “He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements. … There is nothing uncommon about how Ace Bailey’s pre-draft process was handled.”
Cooper doesn’t work alone, though, as Andrew Witlieb is another representative of Bailey who said Friday that the 6-foot-8 wing is “thrilled to be going to Utah,” and that Bailey and his camp “think it’s a great situation for him basketball-wise.”
Witlieb also tipped his cap a bit on where some of Bailey’s pre-draft demands arose.
“This was led by his longtime manager Omar Cooper, who we’re partnering with on this,” Witlieb said of Bailey’s pre-draft tactics. “Omar really focused more on fit rather than going third in the draft. He wanted some place where Ace could have the best possible basketball fit for his game, and we think Utah is one of the best places he could’ve gone.”
Bailey was widely regarded as the No. 3 prospect in the draft, but canceled workouts with the 76ers, who were selecting third, as his camp sought “a clear pathway to stardom.”
Through it all, Bailey has been relentless in saying that he is “just focused on basketball,” and has even seemed to show excitement for heading to Utah since the draft.
“He made a great decision, he knows when I get there it’s time to work,” Bailey told a reporter Wednesday when asked about his conversation with Utah president of basketball operations Austin Ainge.