Ace Bailey Reportedly Did Not Fly To Utah After Being Drafted And Is Now Potentially In A Full On Standoff With Danny Ainge

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This entire Ace Bailey situation is both fascinating and kind of sad all at the same time. We heard the stories about how his camp tried everything they could do to prevent Bailey from ending up on the Jazz, forgetting that Danny Ainge gives zero fucks when it comes to this basketball stuff. There is not a more ruthless basketball executive in the league

so to think Danny Ainge would give a shit about what Ace Bailey or his camp wanted when it came to the #5 pick is laughable. It's his job to build the best basketball roster he can, and part of that includes drafting the best talent available since the Jazz aren't exactly a hot free agent destination. If you have a chance to bring a potential star player to the Jazz and have that player cost controlled for the foreseeable future, you do it.

One would think that after the Draft and the reality set in that Ace Bailey was a member of the Jazz, he would do the logical thing and swallow his pride or whatever and begin this new stage of his life, which just so happens to be a top 5 pick in the NBA Draft. Not so bad! Is that what happened? Of course not

“The Jazz were very excited to welcome him to Utah over the weekend and that hasn’t happened yet. 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.”

From the outside, it really does seem like Ace Bailey is getting some horrific advice from his camp. I just don't really see the upside in any of this. The Jazz aren't going to trade you or anything like that, so what is the benefit of pulling these moves? Once the pick was made, that's it. You're on the Jazz. That's how Drafts work, and in return, you get millions of dollars. 

I guess my question is, what's the end game here? If he doesn't show up by Monday, he just holds out? How is that a good idea? His camp has already cost him $10M based on what happened on the Draft, so what they're just also willing to let him get fined and all that stuff as well? Again I ask, for what? What does that accomplish?

If he does show up on Monday, well then why not just fly out with Walter Clayton Jr? How do we think that's going over in the Jazz locker room from a culture standpoint? Last time I checked, Ace Bailey has played 0 NBA minutes so far in his career. It's a privilege to be in the NBA at all, let alone a top 5 pick. Yet for some reason, everyone around Bailey seems adamant to make him the most hated rookie of all time. Maybe I'm missing something here, but this all sounds like arguably the WORST plan of all time for a draft prospect now turned high lottery rookie. 

Now, it is true that we have seen something similar to this situation back in 1999 with Steve Francis and the Vancouver Grizzlies. They took him #2, he said absofuckinglutely not, and eventually they traded him to the Rockets as part of a 3 team deal ahead of his rookie season. Perhaps that's what Bailey is hoping for now in 2025, but we live in a new world. The NBA is much different today than it was in 1999. You also have to remember the Ainge factor. That is not a guy I'd want to get into a game of chicken with, you will not win.

If Ace Bailey really wants nothing to do with Utah, well then he has the option of playing on his qualifying offer in a few years and then hitting unrestricted free agency. Play your first few years, don't sign a rookie extension and play on the 1 year QO. It's a big risk given the money you'd be passing up, but there are ways to get what you want (out of UTA) without being a gigantic asshole/distraction about it. 

I just wonder how much of this is Bailey's doing and how much of it is his camp/people around him advising him. It really does seem like he's getting horrible advice from somewhere, and I cannot imagine Ainge eventually caves so really this is all for nothing. That's rough.