Would Ace Bailey Fit With The Utah Jazz?
Apr 28, 2025, 1:00 PM | Updated: May 14, 2025, 1:52 pm
Ace Bailey #4 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights celebrates a dunk (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY—After the Utah Jazz fell to the fifth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, one name they’ll monitor closely is Rutgers forward Ace Bailey.
The Jazz had a 52.1 percent chance of landing one of the top four picks in the draft, and a 47.9 percent chance of selecting fifth.
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Ace Bailey Scouting Report
Bio: 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists: .460/.346/.692
Rutgers – Forward – 18 years old on draft night
Strengths: Among any single skill possessed by players projected to be selected in the top five picks of the draft, Ace Bailey’s shotmaking might be the most lethal.
Bailey takes shots that few (if any) college players would dare to attempt and makes them at a rate rarely seen at his level.
Using his 6-foot-7.5 frame and high release, the Rutgers forward is a threat to shoot the ball from anywhere on the court, regardless of whether he’s pulling up, shooting off the dribble, firing in transition, or spotted up for a catch-and-shoot.
Ace Bailey + Rutgers | Pistol Ghost Wiper/Ricky pic.twitter.com/0eznvwODUt
— Keandre Ashley (@HoopIntelllect) April 7, 2025
Bailey is comfortable shooting out of face-ups, fadeaways, stationary, or off movement, and did so with speed and precision through most of his freshman season.
The 18-year-old is also a superb vertical athlete, finishing several highlight-reel dunks at the rim over defenders, and may see more opportunities to utilize his leaping ability with better spacing in the NBA. He’s also shown promise scoring with his left hand on push shots and floaters when he gets into the lane.
Though his ballhandling is a work in progress, Bailey looks to create his own shot often, so if a team does draft him with the idea of developing him into a go-to scoring option, it won’t be a foreign concept to the Tennessee native.
While some may scoff at Bailey’s audacity on offense, he won’t need to be convinced that he can be a high-level scorer at the next level.
Defensively, the wing was willing to get into a low stance on the perimeter and averaged 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals during his freshman season.
Ace Bailey comes over to block the 7’3 Aday Mara. He swatted this ball above the box. pic.twitter.com/H6Q1zKFz8H
— Ricky O’Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) January 13, 2025
Bailey is more of a defensive playmaker than a consistently good defender, but there isn’t a glaring disinterest on that end of the floor, and his height, wingspan, and athleticism combine for an intriguing potential.
Despite his thin frame, Bailey had as many double-digit rebounding games (seven) as he did recording four boards or fewer.
Though he may be the most polarizing prospect among those projected to be selected near the top of the draft, he has a relatively high floor as an NBA player due to his specific strengths.
In a league that prioritizes shooting and size, Bailey has both. Though he may fail to reach the highest end projections that his combination of skills might lend themselves to (Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony), the NBA is littered with tall shotmakers who have played important roles on good teams.
With outcomes that could resemble Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis, Michael Porter Jr., Bojan Bogdanovic, Lauri Markkanen, Brandon Miller, Trey Murphy, Jaden McDaniels, and others, there are multiple pathways for Bailey to carve out a long career in the NBA.
Weaknesses: Though Bailey’s shotmaking might be the most dangerous individual skill at the top of the draft, he’s unquestionably the rawest player in the group.
While he will likely enter the league as a legitimate floor spacer, teams will have to be patient with the rest of his game.
Bailey’s poor 1.3:2 assist-to-turnover ratio has created an overblown narrative that he’s an unwilling passer, but he does have significant room to grow as a playmaker.
Enjoyed Ace Bailey’s passing against TAMU. Much better job of collapsing the DEF, finding teammates on the weakside, and leveraging his scoring gravity. Don’t fixate on the 1 assist in the box score, the passing was much better than that suggests. pic.twitter.com/f1oH2hoFK4
— Tyler Metcalf (@tmetcalf11) December 1, 2024
One of the main reasons Bailey takes so many difficult shots is the slow rate at which he processes the game. In a league that values split-second decision makers, Bailey is prone to stopping the ball to process the defense if he isn’t quickly shooting the ball.
Though having better players around him in the NBA may encourage him to move the ball more willingly, it isn’t a skill he’s shown to this point in his career.
While his size is an asset defensively, he’s far more engaged on the ball than off of it, and often gives up easy baskets on backdoor cuts when he ballwatches.
This possession sums up Ace Bailey pretty well pic.twitter.com/ebnaF5X4v9
— FLOOR and CEILING (Wilko) (@wilkomcv) January 30, 2025
At just 200 lbs, Bailey must add strength to his frame to bang with bigger players near the rim. The forward settles for difficult shots due to an inability to finish through contact in the paint, and will get pushed around by bigger offensive players until he fills out.
Bailey is by no means an inept ballhandler, but he will have to lower his dribble and clean up his control before he’ll be able to penetrate NBA defenses.
How Would Ace Bailey Fit With The Utah Jazz?
With big floor spacers already on the roster in Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Kyle Filipowski already on the roster, Bailey may seem slightly duplicative; his desire to be a top scoring option would stand out for the Jazz.
Nearly all of the Jazz’s frontcourt threes were assisted last season, and the team could use a player who can create his own shot from the perimeter.
The roster has been overly reliant on guards like Keyonte George and Jordan Clarkson to find shots in late-clock situations, and Bailey would offer the team a bigger option to create those looks.
Ace Bailey with a seriously impressive shot pic.twitter.com/eBk1Mm51tZ
— FLOOR and CEILING (Wilko) (@wilkomcv) October 18, 2024
With Collins, Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Cody Williams, and Taylor Hendricks already in the frontcourt, adding Bailey would give the Jazz yet another tall athlete to challenge defenses and crash the glass.
While Williams, Hendricks, and George can all be considered upside swings by the Jazz in recent years, none of those three has a ceiling as high as Bailey’s.
The NBA Draft lottery will be held on May 12.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
