"At the time, the belief was that Bailey and his team was hoping to guide him to the Washington Wizards, who had the sixth overall pick. But Utah -- in the first draft helmed by newly hired president of basketball operations Austin Ainge -- took Bailey fifth, opening up a brief window where it was unclear whether he would report."
"The former Rutgers star wound up reporting without incident to the Jazz and took part in summer league games with the franchise. Bailey averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for Rutgers and is expected to compete for a starting spot in Jazz coach Will Hardy's lineup. Bailey is a former high school teammate of Dallas Mavericks forward and No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg at Montverde High School in Florida."
Ace Bailey has split with manager Omar Cooper and is in the process of obtaining new representation. Bailey was the No. 5 overall pick and faced an unusual draft process in which his representatives told a top-five team they did not want to select him and that he would not report if chosen. Utah selected him fifth in the first draft led by president Austin Ainge, creating brief uncertainty before Bailey ultimately reported and participated in summer league. At Rutgers he averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds and is expected to compete for a starting spot in Will Hardy's lineup. Bailey played high school ball with Cooper Flagg at Montverde High School.
Read at ESPN.com
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