Jazz Predicted to Draft Franchise Centerpiece in ESPN Mock

It's been a rough year for the Utah Jazz. Heading into the All-Star break, they've rattled off a 12-40 record to drop down to a be a bottom-three team in the NBA. There's no playoff bid anywhere close on the horizon, and even a Play-In Tournament appearance would be a bit of a shock at this point.

But with those struggles come premier draft lottery odds during this upcoming offseason. The Jazz are in prime position to land a franchise-changing player at the top of a strong class of incoming prospects and hopefully change the trajectory of this rebuild.

Now standing just over four months away from the 2025 NBA Draft, predictions around media circles have begun to project how the Jazz could tackle their top pick this summer, with the latest projections coming from ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo.

In ESPN's mock, the Jazz had the third-overall pick to select Rutgers star Ace Bailey –– a 6-foot-10, versatile forward with number-one prospect potential.

"Utah didn't make any major deals at the deadline, instead holding on to its veteran players and maintaining its status quo of angling for draft position," Woo said in his rationale. "At some point, the Jazz will have to make strides, but the star power in this draft and atop the 2026 class likely has Utah set to wait things out. Bailey's youth and shotmaking would give the Jazz a potential offensive centerpiece. He would benefit from landing on a team with an extreme long-view approach"

Bailey has had a nice freshman season with Rutgers, averaging 19.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and just over a steal and a block in 22 games. He has NBA-level size and elite scoring ability, making him an appealing fit to add to Utah's already lengthy lineup, and one searching for a primary scoring option of the future.

Ace Bailey has had some spectacular moments in Big Ten play, showing off his talent as a 6'10 shotmaker with incredible scoring prowess. Bailey is making notable strides as a passer/defender, as the game appears to be slowing down significantly for him as the season moves on. pic.twitter.com/LvsYxrogGP
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) February 12, 2025

Of course, the big prize of this year's draft class is Cooper Flagg, but in this scenario, the Jazz aren't able to get their hands on him –– he ended up with the Washington Wizards at one instead. But in the event Utah doesn't win the tank war at the bottom of the standings, adding Bailey into the mix as a potential two-way force at the next level is far from a poor consolation prize.

A lot still has to shake out before the Jazz truly head into draft season, but if things were to shake out this way, it's hard to be upset with the outcome.

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