The Pressure is Now On Rutgers' Ace Bailey to Prove Himself Right
Like the rest of the league, the NBA Draft has become a year-round story now. The 2025 class hasn't even been picked yet, and many analysts, fans, and even teams are already looking to AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and the rest of next season's crop. Even with so many eyes on the future, though, this year's draft is far from settled.
The NCAA season may be long over, and the combine might have come and gone, but prospects are still jostling for position on big boards across the league. Players like Washington State's Cedric Coward could continue to boost their draft stock with good workouts and interviews. On the other hand, athletes can hurt themselves in the final weeks of the pre-draft process, too. It appears that Rutgers' Ace Bailey may have done exactly that.
According to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, Bailey and his camp have rubbed some teams the wrong way leading up to the draft. He reportedly declined to work out for the Philadelphia 76ers at first, "unsatisfied with his search for a proven pathway to development." However, he had a visit scheduled with the Sixers before Givony's news broke in his latest mock draft, which will supposedly be his first appearance with a team since the combine. Apparently, his interviews with some other teams didn't go all that well, either. Givony stated that some franchises felt that he was unprepared and lacked focus.
Clearly, Bailey's off-court activities throughout the pre-draft process haven't helped his case for being a top-three pick. Givony goes on to suggest that this controversy may have been purposefully incited by his camp, though:
"Sources say Bailey's camp has informed interested teams that they believe he is a top-3 player in the draft, but also seeks a clear pathway to stardom, perhaps feeling comfortable that a team will trade up to get him at Nos. 3 or 4, should he drop.
Some teams question whether Bailey has received assurances of being selected by a team currently outside the top five, to a situation deemed more advantageous from a geographic and playing time perspective."
Since this report was released, his supporters have likened him to Jonathan Kuminga, a former blue-chip prospect like Bailey who fans feel has been underserved by his team, the Golden State Warriors. Kuminga is a restricted free agent this summer, and many expect him to seek a better fit for his talents on the open market, somewhere he can be a primary offensive driver.
Only time will tell if Kuminga will flee for greener pastures, and whether the Warriors' system under Head Coach Steve Kerr was really holding him back from reaching his full potential. Similarly, there's no telling whether Ace Bailey and his camp's strategy throughout this predraft process will lead to him going to the best possible situation for his game to blossom.
One thing is clear, though: the pressure is now on him to perform. Had he simply kept his head down, given boring, press-trained answers in his interviews, and gone wherever he would have ended up naturally, he may have been able to use his situation as an excuse if he ended up struggling in the league. With him and his camp actively trying to control his next team, he'll only have himself to blame if the fit is poor.
Will Ace Bailey's draft saga become a small footnote in a great career, like Kobe Bryant, Steve Francis, and Tyrese Haliburton's? Or will he wind up like Skal Labissiere, Dennis Smith Jr., and Yi Jianlian, intriguing talents who tried to rig the draft in their favor, only to have their draft drama wind up being one of the only noteworthy aspects of their careers? It's up to Ace Bailey which path he takes now.
Andy Quach is a Journalism graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University and a credentialed NBA journalist. He has contributed to several FanSided publications, Give Me Sport, and Philly Sports Network, among others. Andy has an appreciation for pick-and-roll maestros and shot-blocking lob threats.