2025 NBA Draft: Ace Bailey is … declining workouts?!

2025 NBA Draft: Ace Bailey is … declining workouts?!

There’s little doubt that Rutgers wing Ace Bailey is one of the best prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft. He’s also one of the most polarizing by many evaluators, myself included.

Barring something completely unforeseen, Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are almost certainly going No. 1 and 2 overall, respectively. After that, Bailey, V.J. Edgecombe and Tre Johnson are the frontrunners. Though Bailey isn’t doing himself any favors, cancelling his only scheduled workout with the Philadelphia 76ers, who own the No. 3 pick, ahead next week’s draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1935542760674869456

If you’ve been reading the tea-leaves before the draft, Bailey’s intel has been a roller coaster the entire time. On the court, he was a confusing eval, but off-the-court, the results appear to be even more mixed.

Here’s what Givony wrote about Bailey earlier this week:

“He appears to be ‘the leader in the clubhouse’ currently, with Bailey losing momentum after refusing to visit, initially unsatisfied with his search for a proven pathway to development,” he said. “The feedback from his interviews at the draft combine in Chicago was not all that positive, with some teams expressing concern about his lack of preparation and focus. NBA executives say Bailey has been polarizing in internal front office conversations because of questions about his feel for the game and lack of polish, creating a wider draft range than initially anticipated.

“Bailey’s predraft workout strategy has perplexed some observers, as he has yet to conduct a single known workout to date, having declined invitations from several teams within his draft range. Sources say Bailey’s camp has informed interested teams that they believe he is a top-3 player in the draft, but also seeks a clear pathway to stardom, perhaps feeling comfortable that a team will trade up to get him at Nos. 3 or 4, should he drop.”

“Some teams question whether Bailey has received assurances of being selected by a team currently outside the top five, to a situation deemed more advantageous from a geographic and playing time perspective.”

Aaron Nesmith Was ‘Blindsided’ By Trade To Pacers

There is plenty of pre-draft scuttlebutt is politics or leverage plays, but if you’re refusing to workout with any team because of usage … you’re hurting yourself. There’s nobody else to blame. His answers at the combine weren’t particularly great either (even though I respect his confidence). Ultimately, we don’t know what his camp is telling him behind closed doors nor do we know if there are any “promises” from a team in the top-5/10, but how Bailey’s handled this pre-draft process–because of … usage?!?–is wild.

On the court, I’ve had questions about his shot selection, ability to create separation, handle and all-around impact. It’s worth noting that Morey isn’t afraid to take swings on players that didn’t officially workout with Philadelphia (i.e. Tyrese Maxey), but is he willing to? We’ll see come June 25!

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