TIM BONEMPS
New York – In the first surprise of the NBA 2025 draft, the Utah jazz made a swing on the writing of rutgers forward AS BaileyOne of the greatest talents – and mysteries – in this year’s class.
After the jazz took him with choice n ° 5, the president of the Utah of the Austin Ainge Basketball operations told ESPN: “We really love it as a player and adjusted in our program.”
Bailey said he had “no idea” that jazz was interested in writing him. Utah was not among its favorite destinations either, a source told Jonathan Givony d’Espn at the head of the NBA draft.
But Bailey says he believes that he will register with his new teammates.
“I have the impression that once I entered, it will be a lot of work,” he said. “I feel like I am a person who likes to work very much. I will push my teammates to be the best possible. I want to come and be a leader as a young cat.”
Bailey’s predraft strategy had been a major intrigue source in the days before the project. He was thrown for most of the season to be a choice among the first three and entered on Wednesday classified N ° 3 on the list of the 100 best ESPN prospects, but he was the only American player who, entering the draft evening, had not organized a single training with a NBA team.
This fueled the conviction that Bailey and his camp had a favorite destination in mind which was outside the first five, and as a result, he began to slide the recovery projections. In the last ESPN simulation project, he had to go to Washington Wizards at n ° 6.
Bailey was a very debated perspective among the NBA teams all season. At 6 feet 9 inch with shoes with an attractive shooting capacity, it is the size to be a large wing, the most precious position archetype in the league. But Bailey is not particularly effective either and has an important place to improve as a ball manager and smuggler.
Upon entering the project, Washington has checked several boxes for Bailey, who is from Chattanooga, Tennessee, but grew up in Atlanta, which is a short trip from the national capital. Wizards, which are in the middle of a reconstruction, are a team that desperately needs a tent star, a player who can become the top scorer of a high -level team – something that Bailey, if he excels, is exactly suitable.
But jazz, which had the worst NBA record last season at 17-65, is in the same situation, and they were not dissuaded to take Bailey simply because they did not have the chance to work it.
The UTAH list has a lot of space for Bailey to work and will be directed by one of the best coaches in the League to Will Hardy, who has accepted a long -term extension with this off -season franchise. Now jazz gets the kind of talent they have planned to get only if they had evolved at the lottery last month.
Bailey said he was happy to have finished the project process.
“I’m ready to play basketball now,” he said. “It was a big trip. I work hard, pushing myself physically and mentally, preparing for the next level.”
