Ace Bailey Had Blunt Four-Word Response on If He Had a Preferred NBA Destination

Bailey was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the No. 5 pick on Wednesday night.

Ace Bailey stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the fifth pick by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

One of the most intriguing storylines at the 2025 NBA Draft was Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, who entered the draft as a widely projected top-five pick despite not working out for a single NBA team this year.

Bailey, who is represented by agent Omar Cooper, had a relatively strange pre-draft journey to the pros, generating lots of buzz over whether the incoming rookie might have had certain preferred destinations in the NBA, perhaps similar to Shedeur Sanders during his NFL draft process in April.

Bailey ended up getting drafted by the Utah Jazz with the No. 5 pick on Wednesday night. During that moment, ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony noted that the Jazz was "not one of his preferred destinations" and that Bailey would have liked to land with the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans or Brooklyn Nets.

But, Bailey refuted Givony's report during an appearance on a pre-NBA draft coverage show earlier that day. Prior to the start of the draft, ESPN analyst Danny Green straight-up asked Bailey whether he had a preferred destination in the NBA.

"No sir, I don't," Bailey bluntly replied.

Danny Green asks Ace Bailey if he has a preferred destination before the NBA Draft pic.twitter.com/VdHgwWJM6g

— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) June 25, 2025

For what it's worth, Bailey looked happy to be picked in the top five and should make an immediate impact in the Jazz's young core, as Utah seemingly plans on keeping the Rutgers star around for the long haul.

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