Repeatedly, Airious “Ace” Bailey has said into microphones that he doesn’t have a preference on where he plays, that he’s just happy about having an opportunity to realize his dreams and that he knows he can be an asset on any team. He just wants to play basketball.
From every possible source I can find — NBA executives, coaches, scouts, college coaches, players, etc. — people have lovely things to say about Bailey. By all accounts, he is a humble, hardworking hoop junkie with a heart of gold who is eager to start his professional career and continue learning.
But, if you only paid attention to the national narrative and news, you’d think the opposite was true. You would think that Bailey was an entitled, arrogant problem. You have probably read stories that have said Bailey has refused workouts and that he has a short list of preferred teams to play for and that he wouldn’t report to training camp if drafted by the wrong team.
The problem with those reports is that, more often than not, it has been made to sound like these are the actions and words of Bailey himself and that these are his decisions and preferences. But it is not 18-year-old Ace Bailey that has made those decisions.
I know this for two reasons. One, that’s not how the NBA works. Players have agents and management teams that field calls and schedule workouts and meetings with NBA teams. And the players — especially the young ones — just do what they are told and go where they are told to go. Two, I asked Bailey if it was fair to say that those decisions were made by management and the other people around him rather than him and he said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Here’s a video of Bailey being asked, on draft day, on national television, if he had a preferred destination and very plainly responding, “No sir, I don’t.”
It’s true that Bailey did not work out for any teams during the pre-draft process and that he was the only American prospect that did not work out for a single team. That was a decision made by someone or someones in his camp that are supposed to have his best interests at heart.
And the name that continues to pop up as the spokesman for these decisions is Omar Cooper, who is identified in numerous reports as Bailey’s agent. Shortly after Bailey was drafted No. 5 overall to the Utah Jazz, Cooper was identified as Bailey’s agent and quoted in an ESPN story saying that there was nothing wrong with their approach to the draft and that teams got what they needed from interviews and drills at the NBA combine.
“Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago,” Cooper told ESPN. “He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements. ... No one said anything when Davion Mitchell canceled a workout with the Toronto Raptors. No one criticized Evan Mobley when he didn’t work out for Cleveland, and they drafted him anyway. ... There is nothing uncommon about how Ace Bailey’s predraft process was handled.”
“The most important thing is that this is Ace’s dream to get drafted. He was blessed and fortunate enough to be drafted by the Utah Jazz and we’re excited to have him, and I know he’s excited, and that’s our focus — just getting him here, getting him a part of our family so he can show who he is as a player."
— Jazz VP of player development Avery Bradley
Except, there is a lot that is uncommon about how this has been handled. Let’s start with Cooper. Though he has been identified over and over as Bailey’s agent, the Deseret News has confirmed that Cooper is not an NBPA-certified agent, which means he can not provide counsel to Bailey or represent him in any kind of contract negotiations.
Adie von Gontard (Young Money APAA Sports) and Daniel Green (GSE Worldwide), who are both NBPA-certified and from two different agencies, are Bailey’s agents, according to numerous reports. But, Cooper has been the person managing Bailey’s pre-draft situation. Cooper, the father of former NBA player Sharife Cooper, has been a part of Bailey’s camp since Bailey relocated to Atlanta and joined Cooper’s AAU team.
Bailey, in the past, has credited Cooper with helping him develop and getting him to Rutgers and progressing as an athlete, and I don’t want to discount any of that investment or Cooper’s contribution to Bailey’s growth, but the more recent contributions have come off as incredibly misguided.
According to league sources, it is Cooper who declined and cancelled workouts with lottery teams, it was Cooper that had a preferred shortlist of teams he wanted to get Bailey to — a decision that could have cost Bailey upwards of $10 million if he had dropped down to the No. 8 pick.
That Bailey was picked fifth overall by the Jazz is a testament to Bailey’s potential and was done in spite of Cooper trying to manipulate where Bailey would land.
It is true that players cancel workouts or do not work out for certain teams every year and that players are drafted by teams that they don’t work out for every year.
But it is incredibly uncommon for a player to not work out with any teams, to go through the draft process without a promise from a team and then for his camp to seemingly demand what team he plays for. And it is even more uncommon for all of those things to be decided by someone who is not allowed to take part in any sort of contract discussions.
Fortunately, Bailey was drafted high, his potential is clear and he will have every opportunity afforded to him, so long as Cooper and those around him don’t try to make any more unnecessary waves. The Jazz aren’t interested in the mess that was created prior to this moment.
“The most important thing is that this is Ace’s dream to get drafted,” Jazz vice president of player development Avery Bradley said Thursday night. “He was blessed and fortunate enough to be drafted by the Utah Jazz and we’re excited to have him, and I know he’s excited, and that’s our focus — just getting him here, getting him a part of our family so he can show who he is as a player."
But, what bothers me the most, is that Bailey has already had to answer for the decisions of Cooper and whoever else has been driving this wayward bus. And, when Bailey sits in front of reporters for his introductory press conference, he will again have to answer for the decisions that were made on his behalf.
This teenager should be basking in the glow of his accomplishments and rejoicing for having his dreams come true. It is enormously unfair that he has been put in this position, and that he has been put in this position by someone who is supposed to have his back and is supposed to be helping him make the most of this moment.
There has been buzz over the last couple of days that Bailey could potentially not report to the Jazz for their Summer League training camp and his introductory press conference. That buzz, once again, seems to be coming from Cooper.
Bailey happily said, “See you soon,” when he signed off from a Zoom interview with local Utah reporters Wednesday night.
It seems that Bailey wants no part in all of this nonsense. He just wants to join a team and play basketball, and he should be allowed to do just that.
Hopefully, Bailey, his certified agents and his family can see that some of these decisions have hurt Bailey and could continue to hurt him if not stopped. Hopefully, this is the last time anyone has to wonder what Bailey’s intentions are.
Hopefully, Bailey arrives in Utah this weekend, and is on the court Monday with the rest of the Jazz’s Summer League squad. Hopefully, nobody takes anything else away from what should be the best moments of Bailey’s young life.
