The Utah Jazz made headlines during the 2025 NBA Draft when they selected Ace Bailey with the fifth overall pick, an elite prospect whose stock had slipped due to pre-draft controversy, and more controversial moments have since followed.
Once considered a top-three talent, Bailey‘s unexpected drop stemmed from skipped workouts, including with the Philadelphia 76ers, and a reported reluctance to join certain teams.
Despite his athleticism, scoring ability, and upside, questions emerged about his commitment, maturity, and overall draft process, a similar claim that impacted the Cleveland Brown’s Shedeur Sanders in the NFL.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Jazz selected Ace knowing full well the challenges they were inviting as reports indicated that the youngster had told at least one team not to select him or he would refuse to report.
Among the teams Bailey reportedly favored were the Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Washington Wizards. Utah was not on that list, and the rookie’s absence from the team’s initial post-draft activities raised eyebrows.
Yet the Utah do not intend to cave to his wishes easily, dispelling claims they could be forced to trade his rights and send him to a destination of his choosing ahead of the next NBA campaign.
“They will absolutely not budge on this,” Brian Windhorst told ESPN’s Get Up. “And eventually, Ace Bailey is going to be a Utah Jazz.
“They have the ultimate position. They have to draft and develop the most talented players they can.
“Danny Ainge and his son Austin are not going to bend here. Let’s see how the next 72 hours play out.”
So, it appears that the front office will not cave to pressure as Ace and his team try to ultimately influence his landing spot- which is an increasingly common tactic among elite prospects.
Fellow ESPN personality, Scott Van Pelt, didn’t hold back when commenting on the rookie’s stance as he tried to offer him some perspective by saying, “He’s good.
“But he’s not this good to be trying to dictate to people, ‘Don’t take me.’ Like, what the hell is that?”
However, Windhorst countered that the Jazz’s current position leaves them no other choice after they finished the 2024/25 NBA campaign with a 17-65 record (.207) and last in the entire league overall.
“The Jazz pretty much tanked last season,” Windhorst claimed on the show. “And then they got terrible luck in the lottery to go all the way back to fifth… They have to take that player there, Scott.”
Ace Bailey’s college stats: Is he worth the drama?
Bailey’s attempt to influence his draft destination draws strong comparisons to one of the most famous draft power plays in NBA history: Kobe Bryant‘s path to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996.
Then, 17-year-old Bryant made it clear he had no intention of playing for most of the teams in the lottery, including the New Jersey Nets and Sacramento Kings and eventually got his spot at the Staples Center.
However, Kobe was a once-in-a-generation talent who is now often regarded as the third best player ever, behind Michael Jordan and LeBron James, so does Bailey have the talent to make such demands?
That remains to be seen put he did deliver solid numbers for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from the guard role, averaging 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the 2024/25 NCAA season.
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