Bailey must be a play finisher. He should not have the ball in his hands or be tasked as a creator.
Ace Bailey is the Utah Jazz's most prized prospect that the franchise has had in years. There's plenty of reason to be excited about him, but the Jazz also need to use him the right way for him to reach his potential. One of the best ways to do that, at least to start, is to have him primarily be a play finisher, or in other words, don't rely on him as a creator.
Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon brought this up when discussing how Bailey could fit with the Jazz's offense on "The Game Theory Podcast." Simon explained how Bailey could thrive with the right gameplan.
"One reason... liking him in Utah is what Will Hardy would do with him in that offense, coming off screens... Isaiah Collier creating for him. I hope that's his role because I think that's where he'll find early success scoring basketball," Simons said.
Vecenie explained why he thinks the Jazz are perfect for Bailey to start his NBA career.
"Utah is genuinely the best place he could have gone, I think, because they will play him off the ball and they will have kim kind of figure out what his best ability to actually impact the game in a winning manner can be by playing him off the ball more consistently.
"They will run real actions for him. They will try and get him loose in that manner and then let him take two dribbles and get to the basket off of a heavy closeout or just catch and shoot, right? These are the things that I think he can do at a solid level."
Bailey definitely demonstrated his scoring prowess during the Summer League. Perhaps the best way that can translate into the NBA is by teammates setting him up. That might not necessarily the easiest role for him to accept, but if it gets him and the Jazz results, that could make it easier for him to embrace.
There's no telling how the Ace Bailey will start in Utah, like whether he will start his career as a starter or work his way up to become one. However, while the Jazz will definitely want to see what he is made of from the start, they also will want to develop him appropriately by helping play to his strengths and play within the team's schemes.
There's not much Bailey can do wrong his rookie season
Another reason why Bailey landed in a fantastic situation in Utah is that there won't be too much pressure on him to prove himself right away. He'll have players like Collier and Walter Clayton Jr. to help set him up. He'll even have scorers who won't put the burden on him, like Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George.
They got rid of some players to make room for Bailey for sure, but Utah's offseason overall has signified that they won't push him to be that franchise savior right away, and even if he winds up fitting that archetype, they'll be more than happy to accept it either way.
And if that's not enough, the Jazz just witnessed the worst rookie season from Cody Williams, so even if Bailey doesn't hit the ground running, fans will know it could be worse because they've seen it before and recently.