Inside The Wizards

Ace Bailey Draft Slide Opens Up Possibilities for Wizards

The Rutgers prospect's stock is starting to slip with a week left to go before the NBA Draft, potentially altering the Washington Wizards' strategy.
Henry Brown|
Feb 23, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) during the second half against the USC Trojans at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Feb 23, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) during the second half against the USC Trojans at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

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Just weeks ago, Ace Bailey was viewed by many big-name scouts as a near-lock to go top-three in the 2025 NBA Draft. He's a multi-positional shooter with zero fear for the moment, said to be a few inches shy of 7' with plenty of upside as a defender.

But as some of his peers have made impressions on some of the top teams in the lottery, Bailey's buzz has begun to fade, resulting in a potential draft slide with a week to go until the main event.

He always had his critics; unlike Dylan Harper, his Rutgers point guard who thrived while alternating in creating for himself and others, Bailey seems to only have a mind for his scoring game. He takes tough shots, and though he looks great when he's on with his advanced shooting stroke and handle, the worry remains that the games where his dribble jumpers aren't falling will be much more common at the NBA level.

ESPN draft specialist Jonathan Givony released the newest edition of his mock draft eight days before the first round, and has Bailey falling all the way to #6 amidst criticisms starting to catch up to him.

Even after the dramatic combine reveal that he's a few inches shorter than many once thought, he's still refusing workouts to teams who don't match his vision of the player he intends on developing into.

"Bailey's predraft workout strategy has perplexed some observers, as he has yet to conduct a single known workout to date, having declined invitations from several teams within his draft range," Givony writes. "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."

He's allegedly shutting down any team who envisions him more as a juiced-up 3&D role player, attempting to ride his unique scoring style into a pick right alongside Harper near the top of the draft. Theories are starting to bounce around that he may be dead-set on a specific team farther down the draft order where playing time and available shots are more wide-open.

"Should the Sixers pass on him, he could very well slide to the No. 6 or No. 7 picks, two teams in Washington and New Orleans that are said to be highly intrigued with the 18-year-old's talent. And both are situations in which there appear to be plenty of minutes and shots to be had," Givony says.

The Wizards certainly need scoring, and though Bailey doesn't quite fit the mold of the versatile, defense-first swings they've been known to take in recent years, he's certainly young enough to keep things interesting entering this final week of pre-draft rumors.

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Henry Brown
HENRY BROWN

Henry covers the Washington Wizards and Baltimore Ravens with prior experience as a sports reporter with The Baltimore Sun, the Capital Gazette and The Lead. A Bowie, MD native, he earned his Journalism degree at the University of Maryland.

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