It wasn't perfect, but the Utah Jazz got everything they could have expected out of Ace Bailey to believe he is part of the future. He's young enough and promising enough for anyone with an average understanding of basketball that trading him would be a stupid move save it be in a trade for Victor Wembanyama or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
And yet, we're seeing the idea floated that the Jazz would send Bailey to trade up from No. 2 to No. 1. ESPN's Ben Golliver brought it up again, proposing the following deal between the Jazz and Washington Wizards.
Jazz get: No. 1 pick, Bub Carrington, Cam Whitmore
Wizards get: No. 2 pick, Bailey, 2029 first-round pick (most favorable of Utah, Cleveland and Minnesota; if 6-30)
Golliver rationalized the deal believing that Dybantsa is too good of a prospect for the Jazz to pass up on.
"After four straight lottery trips, the Jazz should be willing to pay a premium to install Dybantsa as their next franchise player. The former BYU forward, who moved to Utah in high school, would be a dynamic frontcourt partner for Jaren Jackson Jr. Bailey showed promise last season as a rookie but shouldn't be viewed as untouchable for a Jazz team that needs a true cornerstone such as Dybantsa," Golliver wrote.
That's actually better than a similar deal that more or less proposed the same endgame, just with fewer parts. Even so, why jump through such elaborate hoops for someone who may be the favorite to be the No. 1 pick, but it's not a given that he will be?
Look, it's very possible whoever gets picked first overall will be better than Bailey, but if that's the rationale for such a deal, that's looking at it through the wrong end of the telescope because Bailey has the makings of a foundational piece, while the No. 2 pick has the potential to be one as well.
This class is too good overall for a Bailey sacrifice to be worth it
Utah may prefer Dybantsa for reasons everyone pretty much has committed to memory by now, but it's still not entirely clear if he's actually a better prospect than Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer. And even if he turns out to be, is he that much better to justify trading one of them and Bailey for the Jazz?
It just doesn't seem worth it. These three prospects are too neck-and-neck-and-neck for it to be worth it. Not to mention it would automatically put a lot of pressure on Dybantsa to be a franchise player from the jump. Utah may aiming for the playoffs, but they are also built to be patient with their young players.
When it comes to trade proposals like these, quality > quantity is true, no doubt, but know what else is true? Quality and quantity > quality > quantity.
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