Ace Bailey and his representatives told at least one team picking in the top five of the 2025 NBA Draft that he would not report if selected, a new report from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Tim Bontemps claims.
Despite that, the Utah Jazz took Bailey with the No. 5 pick.
The 6-foot-8 wing out of Rutgers was widely projected as a top-three talent and remains one of the highest-upside prospects in this class.
League chatter suggested Bailey’s camp, led by agent Omar Cooper, was attempting to steer him toward teams like the Washington Wizards or Brooklyn Nets.
Cooper pushed back strongly against those claims.
“Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago,” Cooper told ESPN. “He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. 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.”
Bailey made headlines before the draft when he cancelled a workout with the 76ers, who held the third pick, just two days before it was scheduled.
He also turned down a workout with Utah, making him the only domestic prospect in the draft who did not work out for a single NBA team, Jake Fischer reported.
When asked directly about his draft process, Bailey didn’t seem fazed.
“They feel how they feel,” Bailey said on draft night. “But my team and me, are focusing on basketball and them doing what they’re doing, so it happens.”
As it stands, Bailey is expected to suit up for Utah in the Summer League starting July 5 in Salt Lake City.
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