The Utah Jazz may have drafted Ace Bailey against his wishes, but he solidifies himself as the face of their franchise.
The Utah Jazz had an interesting offseason. After yet another disappointing NBA season, the Jazz turned their eyes to the NBA draft and tried to turn their fate around.
With a bold move, the Jazz chose Ace Bailey with the #5 pick. Many were surprised by the decision as Bailey was fishing for moves to other teams.
With the NBA draft not moving forward, Bailey embraced his fate with the jazz and focused on moving forward with their best feet.
And Bailey’s NBA Summer League performance is anything. He will become the face of the uncontroversial future of the Utah Jazz franchise.
Ace Bailey did very well in the NBA Summer League, averaging 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists played around 18 minutes in the game.
Bailey rose some strong numbers as he reached the courtroom for a limited amount of time. He impressed the right people within the jazz organization.
Jazz coach Will Hardy has Bailey’s plans. Much of this involves him turning the ball off, probably due to Lauri Markanen’s attack.
However, Markanen proved his critics wrong with his great run at the Eurobasket. There, they helped Finland eliminate Serbia, the atmospheric favorite to win the tournament.
As a result, many believe that Markanen is likely to be traded this season, as his quality is in the way of the jazz rebuilding process.
With Markanen and perhaps even Walker Kessler left the team, Bailey was able to get the ball more often and gave him more offensive control.
Ace Bailey was touted as one of the brightest prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft class. In fact, many felt he was the best player in the class behind top two picks, Cooper Flag and Dylan Harper.
However, his pre-draft activity caused draft value to the tank. In Jazz, Bailey finds himself in a great scenario despite his first resistance to joining the team.
The Jazz is looking to take advantage of the exciting pool of players in the 2026 and 2027 NBA Draft class, so it is expected to continue tanking next season.
Bailey is able to adapt to the NBA and develop games as much as necessary for a rookie year without the pressure to play winning basketball.