Can someone explain Ace Bailey to me?

[itrsteve]

I suppose a rookie villain isn't a bad thing.

I place the majority of the blame on his agent who is clearly a dumbass.

[LAvision]

This is hilarious. I hope he doesn't report on Monday.

[morosis]

theres something to be said here about the Jazz's shameless tank leading to an equally shameless lottery pick.

if there is such a thing as basketball karma, this might be it.

[DusterBuster]

He clearly wanted to go somewhere where the franchise would be hands off and let him do whatever the f he wanted, which makes it clear why New Orleans was his preferred destination.

[zero rings]

I suppose a rookie villain isn't a bad thing.

I place the majority of the blame on his agent who is clearly a dumbass.

Did the agent force him to bomb his interviews and pout on stage at the draft?

[HMFFL]

He clearly wanted to go somewhere where the franchise would be hands off and let him do whatever the f he wanted, which makes it clear why New Orleans was his preferred destination.

New Orleans or Washington is what I assumed.
Utah was an after thought for him but some of us mentioned it here on realgm. Danny not passing up a challenge.

I want to see what the players union react to this.

[MoneyTalks41890]

I’m a fan of Ainge’s move on this. Went BPA. Now convince the player he should want to play for your team.

Sounds like the agent has been giving some real poor advice and Airious (incredible name) is being a kid.

I don’t mind him embracing some agency, but clearly it didn’t work out and now you have to be a pro.

[Sixteen]

theres something to be said here about the Jazz's shameless tank leading to an equally shameless lottery pick.

if there is such a thing as basketball karma, this might be it.

a team that isn't a free agent destination and wouldn't have made the playoffs had they competed anyways decided to do what's best for their franchise long term. boo hoo

[DusterBuster]

He clearly wanted to go somewhere where the franchise would be hands off and let him do whatever the f he wanted, which makes it clear why New Orleans was his preferred destination.

New Orleans or Washington is what I assumed.
Utah was an after thought for him but some of us mentioned it here on realgm. Danny not passing up a challenge.

I want to see what the players union react to this.

Washington and New Orleans are both franchises that have very little to no organizational structure or player conduct expectations.

[MrTribbiani]

What's all the handwringing for?

He's reporting to Utah according to a recent report.

[tsherkin]

What's all the handwringing for?

He's reporting to Utah according to a recent report.

There was some report to the contrary which stirred up all the mess. If he's actually going, then that's good.

[stitches]

What's all the handwringing for?

He's reporting to Utah according to a recent report.

The whole drama seems to be over. Jazz representatives are saying he is reporting to Utah tomorrow and they are saying this was the plan from the get go and him travelling to Utah yesterday was never the plan.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45598243/ace-bailey-plans-report-jazz-saturday-team-says

His official agent gave an interview where he said he was "thrilled" to be part of the Jazz:

Read on Twitter

And his manager/fake agent(who seems to be the guy behind all the commotion and the whole attempt to guide him to Washington) seems to be finally on board too:



This looks like a done deal to me. This specific drama should be over. Now the question remains if this manager/fake agent is good news for Ace and his development long-term. To me it looks like he's been giving Ace some horrible advice and I'm not sure this stops here. I hope Ace and his family sees through this sleazeball and cut him off and put their trust in a reputable agent/agency.

[morosis]

theres something to be said here about the Jazz's shameless tank leading to an equally shameless lottery pick.

if there is such a thing as basketball karma, this might be it.

a team that isn't a free agent destination and wouldn't have made the playoffs had they competed anyways decided to do what's best for their franchise long term. boo hoo

sir i am not crying, i am laughing.

[Dominator83]

He clearly wanted to go somewhere where the franchise would be hands off and let him do whatever the f he wanted, which makes it clear why New Orleans was his preferred destination.

New Orleans or Washington is what I assumed.
Utah was an after thought for him but some of us mentioned it here on realgm. Danny not passing up a challenge.

I want to see what the players union react to this.

Washington and New Orleans are both franchises that have very little to no organizational structure or player conduct expectations.

Hornets as well

[Dominator83]

Dude has bust written all over him. Like it's crazy the mentality this kid has when not even being the top prospect in his draft or anywhere close to it.

Compare that to Victor who is extremely professional, respectful, mature, humble, etc. It's nuts to me that someone can act like Ace coming into the NBA when the NBA's top young prospect (by far) is so mature in comparison. Dude needs to grow up big time. His clown manager, wannabe agent is not doing him any favors

Hes got Josh Jackson written all over him

[RookieStar]

This kid is unbelievable.

Read on Twitter

What draft night plans did Ace ghosted UTA on?

[DusterBuster]

New Orleans or Washington is what I assumed.
Utah was an after thought for him but some of us mentioned it here on realgm. Danny not passing up a challenge.

I want to see what the players union react to this.

Washington and New Orleans are both franchises that have very little to no organizational structure or player conduct expectations.

Hornets as well

Good pull

[Nate505]

If he's using the only leverage he has to avoid going to Utah I can't fault him. If he asked them to not draft him and they did anyway and he holds out it's their fault. They could have traded the pick or chosen a different player. Elway, Eli publicly pulled this in the NFL. Numerous players have quietly did this in the NBA. I imagine it only got public because he let his wishes be known and salty organizations decided to smear him in the media instead of working with him behind the scenes. Now Utah has even less leverage should he refuse to report and allowing him to get away with it will result in a pissing contest. Ace would have to sit out or play overseas and re-enter the draft next year to follow through on his threats. This could get interesting

He can definitely do this, but IIRC next year's draft is pretty stacked, so he'll be going at a lower position and will just have cost himself a year of time in the NBA. Aside from the fact there's always a financial risk of passing up guaranteed money, I can't imagine most teams in the draft would be willing to draft him high knowing that he'll have the perception as a malcontent.

Though it would be hilarious if he did this and the Jazz had the 8th pick or something and drafted him again.

[Shock Defeat]

Kobe forced himself out of Charlotte. Curry didn't want to play for GS he wanted NY. Steve Francis didnt' want Vancouver. Many instances of players trying to manipulate themselves towards a specific team or avoiding teams

[Wallace_Wallace]

Just go undrafted if he got the guts, that way he can choose which team he wants to play for. Austin Reeves went that route.