Putting all the drama aside, the Utah Jazz have to be beyond excited to have Ace Bailey on board. Yes, the red flags are there, but the sky-high potential is undeniable. Because Bailey's stock fell as far as it did, the Jazz had the opportunity to draft him, and that may not have happened had the Jazz not tanked their season away, showing they were right to go that direction.
Tanking was not a strategy the Jazz were very familiar with before the 2024-25 season, and when the Jazz were awarded the No. 5 pick despite having the worst record in the NBA, the art of tanking came very much into question.
Because the No. 5 pick was the worst-case scenario for Utah, at first glance, it felt like a terrible season was completely wasted. However, while Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper were no longer on the table, the Jazz still had the opportunity to grab a potentially golden prospect like Bailey because their worst record gave them the chance to.
While Bailey may have gone higher had he not refused to work out for multiple teams (which included the Jazz), going that route opened the window for Utah to acquire someone as exciting as him. While tanking is not a foolproof strategy for multiple reasons - Bailey's not a sure thing - it guarantees that teams can still get the opportunity to draft their next face of the franchise.
What went down with Bailey on Draft Night is living proof of that, and proof that Utah made the right call, no matter how painful this past season was to watch.
It's why the Jazz will tank (but not TANK) next season
Now, the new President of Basketball Operations, Austin Ainge, has promised that Jazz fans will not see a repeat of what happened this past season. Technically speaking, he may not be lying in the sense that Jazz fans should expect Lauri Markkanen and others to play more games.
Still, even with exciting new prospects like Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. now on the roster, Utah is still going to lose a lot of games, pending any surprises. They may not lose as many games as they did this past season, but the Western Conference remains extremely competitive, and teams will view their game against the Jazz as an opportunity to move up in the playoff standings.
Utah might not make it so abundantly clear that they want to lose as many games as possible, but it's still hard to see them doing much better, even if Markkanen plays more games and Bailey looks like a superstar in the making. That's not a bad thing, as the 2026 NBA Draft is expected to have plenty of exciting prospects in that one, too.
It might be a rough couple of years from here for the Jazz, but they should not feel guilty for tanking. It's not an easy watch, but getting someone who is a legitimate step in the right direction with Bailey shows that tanking is worth the risk.