Ace Bailey Refused Draft Workouts in Hopes to Land With One Specific Team: Report

The Jazz selected Bailey with the No. 5 pick despite his bizarre pre-draft process.

Ace Bailey landed with the Utah Jazz as the fifth pick of this year's NBA draft / David Banks-Imagn Images

Ace Bailey's polarizing pre-draft process is in the rearview. The one-and-done Rutgers star was chosen by the Jazz with the fifth pick in this year's NBA draft as the first true shocker of the first round.

He was projected as a top-five talent, but he opted against individual workouts with teams interested in bringing him in, including the 76ers who owned the No. 3 pick. Bailey's upside as a potential star won out as Utah went for him with their pick in the top five anyway. Now, shortly ahead of his rookie season with the Jazz, his preferred draft destination appears to have been revealed via NBA insider Marc Stein.

"This one has been in circulation since draft night in June: Washington is the lottery team, according to various rivals, that was the preferred landing spot for Ace Bailey," Stein wrote Monday in The Stein Line. "The Wizards had the sixth overall pick. Bailey's camp refused to engage with teams interested in bringing him in for an individual workout in the days leading up to the June 25 draft in the apparent hope of steering himself to the Wizards."

Ahead of the draft, Bailey's camp reportedly told a team selecting in the top five not to pick him. Quickly after he landed with the Jazz, news surfaced that Utah wouldn't consider trading Bailey and his representation was clear that he was "thrilled to be going to Utah."

He played in two games for the Jazz during the Salt Lake City Summer League, but he was sidelined for the entirety of the Las Vegas Summer League with a hip flexor injury. Interestingly enough, Stein also mentioned in his Monday report that the Wizards recently signed Sharife Cooper, son of Bailey's manager Omar Cooper, to a two-way contract. Although a low-profile move, the signing provided a bit of a shock since Cooper hasn't played in the NBA since the 2021-22 season after he was drafted late in the second round by the Hawks.

Cooper's father Omar was said to be a big part of Bailey's pre-draft process. Bailey is now a key member of the Jazz, whether he initially wanted to play elsewhere or not. His first NBA season kicks off next month when Utah opens their season at home against the Clippers on Oct. 22.

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