Ace Bailey's breakout proves Jazz disaster was blessing in disguise

The Utah Jazz have only continued to lose at an embarrassing rate and in embarrassing fashion, but everyone knows why. Besides, with everything going on, the one saving grace has been watching Ace Bailey putting it together at the right time.

Bailey has already accomplished a rookie feat the NBA hasn't seen since Kevin Durant, and he's only continued to make more rookie history since then.

It's not leading into any wins, but Bailey's ascension not only came at the right time, but it means the Jazz's future is in even better hands. To think that 10 months ago, Jazz fans thought the pick that led to Bailey meant the sky was falling.

As bad as this season has been, it's fair to say that fans would prefer this one over last, where the Jazz did everything in their power to get the best odds at Cooper Flagg. They pulled out all the stops, but unfortunately, their infamously bad lottery luck only continued, as they not only didn't get the No. 1 pick, but got the worst-case scenario with the No. 5 pick.

It really felt like a wasted season until the draft itself. Once Bailey's name was called, suddenly it didn't seem so bad. With his rookie season about to come to a close, pretty much everyone forgot about all the post-lottery pandemonium in Utah.

It goes to show that when a door closes, a window opens

No one's suggesting that the Jazz are better off with Flagg than Bailey, but everyone should believe by now that Bailey was the perfect consolation prize after losing out on Flagg and then some. Bailey looks like he could have the makings of a franchise player, and given how good the Jazz will be once all their guys are back and healthy, their prospects suddenly get infinitely better.

Even if they missed out on a generational prospect, the Jazz still reeled in a prospect who could be good enough to see his name in the rafters when it's all said and done. To make it even better, many were nervous about the Bailey pick, fearing he would not want to play for them, but not only has he been a good soldier, but his character has been praised.

This situation could have turned out so much worse for Utah, but Bailey has checked pretty much every box, and now he's going to be a contributor on one of the NBA's rising teams next season. The team couldn't have asked for a better outcome after what they originally thought was a disastrous outcome.