The Utah Jazz certainly shocked the masses when they drafted Ace Bailey with the No. 5 pick. At the time, the narrative was that Bailey didn't want to play for Utah, but it was actually more than that. Bailey's problem wasn't that he didn't want the Jazz, but that he really wanted to start his NBA career in Washington.
NBA Insider Marc Stein confirmed as such in his September 22 Substack post.
"This one has been in circulation since draft night in June: Washington is the lottery team, according to various rivals, that was the preferred landing spot for Ace Bailey.
"The Wizards had the sixth overall pick. Bailey's camp refused to engage with teams interested in bringing him in for an individual workout in the days leading up to the June 25 draft in the apparent hope of steering himself to the Wizards. Then Utah, with the No. 5 overall pick, stunningly selected Bailey despite a flurry of external suggestions that the Rutgers star wouldn't want to be in Salt Lake City and might even refuse to report to the Jazz."
Ultimately, it didn't happen, but it's been clear since Bailey's drafting why Utah opted to take him despite his wishes to play in DC. Bailey's ceiling is superstar-level high, and his brief Summer League play showed it.
It doesn't mean he can't warm up to Utah in due time
This isn't exactly the best (nor surprising) news for the Jazz. Utah has a reputation for not being a player's destination, so it's not hard to see that Bailey would have preferred playing somewhere else. However, that doesn't mean he can't embrace being a Jazzman in due time.
Since coming to Utah, Bailey has said all the right things and has made it clear that he has no issue with where he's starting his NBA career. If the Jazz play their cards right, Bailey might embrace the Jazz and their fanbase in the coming years.
It may not be smooth sailing at first, as everyone knows Utah is going for the tank again, but if the team shows progress over time to the point where it's clear they've got a perennial contender on their hands for the foreseeable future, that just might be enough to convince Bailey that the right team picked him.
The Jazz knew the risk when they took Bailey despite his telling other teams not to pick him. Doing so shows their confidence that he will both enjoy and stay a Jazzman for years to come. Now they just need to show him the vision they have for him once he takes the floor as a rookie.