Latest news with #AustinAinge
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ace Bailey's reps told team with top-5 pick not to draft Rutgers wing: Report
In the lead-up to the NBA Draft, Ace Bailey's representatives told a team with a top-five pick not to select the Rutgers wing — and that Bailey wouldn't report to the organization if it drafted him anyway — according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Tim Bontemps. ESPN's report doesn't disclose which team in the top five Bailey's reps wanted to steer clear of the 6-foot-8 freshman. Advertisement The Utah Jazz ended up picking Bailey No. 5 overall. The Jazz's new president of basketball operations, Austin Ainge, spoke with reporters Wednesday night and expressed excitement about landing a prospect of Bailey's caliber despite owning only the fifth selection after entering the lottery tied for the best No. 1 pick odds. "He's great," Ainge said of Bailey, via ESPN. "We were able to speak with him. He was super excited. We're super excited. We're expecting a very bright future. His scoring gets a lot of attention, [and] deservedly so. He's very skilled for his size. But watching a lot of film on him, I was impressed with his defensive effort and particularly his rebounding. Lot of weak side block shots, and his joy and energy for the game." Ainge, the son of longtime Boston Celtics executive and current Jazz CEO and alternate governor Danny Ainge, added: "We do a lot of background calls and work on guys, and everyone loves being around Ace." Bailey, along with Florida guard and reigning national champion Walter Clayton Jr., is the latest newcomer to join a Jazz roster littered with youth. Advertisement 'I fit in good because we all young, so we all got a lot to learn,' Bailey said, via The Athletic. 'We can play with each other, get to know each other, how we play, how we fit in, what works, and then also, I don't know a lot about Utah, but I'm learning as we go. "I know it's cold and it's hot. It get cold, and it get hot here. Gotta find me a place with a good heater." As for the other four teams in the top five, the Dallas Mavericks kicked off the draft by making Duke forward Cooper Flagg the youngest No. 1 overall pick since LeBron James in 2003. Then the San Antonio Spurs grabbed Bailey's Rutgers teammate, guard Dylan Harper, with the No. 2 overall pick. Those two picks could have been written in Sharpie days before the draft. Ace Bailey's scouting report on Utah: It can get cold there, and he'll be sure to have a place with a good heater. (Photo by) (Ed Mulholland via Getty Images) Things got interesting at No. 3, where the Philadelphia 76ers sat Wednesday night. Bailey, who chose not to participate in workouts with individual teams before the draft, notably canceled a scheduled visit with the Sixers earlier this month. Advertisement Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told reporters Wednesday night that Bailey's refusal to work out for the team didn't play a part in Philadelphia's decision to pick Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe. At No. 4 overall, the Charlotte Hornets drafted Duke wing Kon Knueppel. Bailey was the only U.S.-based prospect who didn't meet with a single team outside of the scouting combine. "Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago," Bailey's agent, Omar Cooper, told ESPN, referencing the NBA combine. "He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements." Advertisement Cooper continued, via ESPN: "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 pre-draft process was handled." Approaching the draft, ESPN's Givony reported that the Washington Wizards (held the No. 6 overall pick), the New Orleans Pelicans (held the No. 7 overall pick) and the Brooklyn Nets (held the No. 8 overall pick) were preferred destinations for Bailey and his camp. The Wizards, in particular, were a popular landing spot for Bailey in mock drafts, including in Kevin O'Connor's for Yahoo Sports. Bailey said Wednesday night he had "no idea" the Jazz were interested in drafting him, but Utah still took him with the No. 5 overall pick.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
No. 5 pick Ace Bailey ready to get back to ball in Utah
June 26 - Confounding to some and confusing to others, the pre-draft position of top prospect Ace Bailey moved to the rear-view mirror as he prepares for professional basketball life with the Utah Jazz. Utah selected Bailey fifth overall on Wednesday, a decision that Jazz president of basketball operations Austin Ainge said was extremely simple despite public concern about the Rutgers forward refusing to work out for teams before the 2025 NBA Draft. "We do a lot of background calls and work on guys and everyone loves being around Ace," Ainge said. "He's fun, smiles every day. Just a breath of fresh air in the gym. We were able to speak with him. He was super excited. We're super excited. We're expecting a very bright future." No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs), Bailey's college teammate at Rutgers, described him as the life of the locker room in New Jersey. The Tennessee kid raised in Atlanta was the No. 2 high school prospect behind Cooper Flagg entering college. Before pre-draft posturing changed the equation, many felt Bailey would be in San Antonio instead of Harper. Bailey said he's ready to focus on the game on the court after a venture into the business side of professional hoops before the draft. "I'm very young. I'm just coming to the game, so there's a lot of stuff I can improve, physically and mentally," Bailey said. "I mean, from jump shots to more creativity, to more ballhandling, just all over the place." Ainge said the Jazz were attracted to Bailey's offensive game and athleticism as much as potential to be a lockdown defender. "He's very skilled for his size. When watching film on him, I was impressed with his defensive effort and in particular his rebounding. A lot of weakside blocked shots," Ainge said. Bailey, 18, was one of two players to landed with the Jazz in the first round. Florida point guard Walter Clayton Jr. was acquired in a trade with the Washington Wizards. Ainge said the Jazz sat down earlier this month and tried to envision what the perfect draft night might look like. With Round 1 in the books, Ainge said the Jazz, who finished with the NBA's worst record last season but fell to No. 5 overall in the lottery, hit the jackpot. "We sat down and looked at our picks and said, 'What would be the best case scenario?' And these were the two guys we really wanted," Ainge said. "We feel very fortunate and are excited to have them in the family." --Field Level Media
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
The major factors that will decide the Utah Jazz's future
The anticipation is at an all-time high for Jazz fans — there's officially only four more sleeps until the 2025 NBA Draft, where there are endless possibilities of how the new Jazz management handles their #5 pick. With a roster consisting of win-now players like Lauri Markkanen/John Collins and a promising young core, the team's path is still largely undecided heading into 2026. We could be headed into a jam-packed offseason that could finally provide the answers we've been seeking for years. Advertisement The stacked Western Conference gives the Jazz a near-impossible chance to compete, and the seats are getting hot if the team continues to head on a downward trajectory. The fans are restless, ready to embrace the Note in the bright lights once again in the NBA Finals. But first comes the internal team-building and culture, so the Jazz can come ready to play. Here's what I thought were the three most overriding decisions that will loom heavy over the Jazz front office: The Jazz NEED to nail this top-5 pick COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FEB 05 Arkansas at Texas Jazz fans have had over a month to process the grief of falling to the lowest possible selection in the draft, and now they need to get it right. New Jazz President Austin Ainge has been praised for his work on the Celtics for nailing picks late in the draft. He's no stranger to scouting prospects, and that's exactly what the Jazz need to find 'their guy' in the lucrative top-5 range. Advertisement The Jazz haven't had much major success thus far in their three-year rebuild — Keyonte, Sensabaugh, Collier, and Filipowski have been wonderful surprises, but nothing that can get Utah over the hump. However, this is the first year the Jazz have held a pick higher than #9. Various Jazz sources have covered the team's interest in Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson, Khaman Malauch and Jeremiah Fears. Most mocks point to Texas' Tre Johnson as the most realistic selection — one of the best shooters in his class and a sky-high offensive ceiling. He fits the mold as an offensive hub next to Collier and Markkanen, and could be a dynamic scoring backcourt next to Keyonte. The Athletic's Tony Jones even joined the Locked On Jazz podcast, making one thing clear: 'The Jazz have had Tre Johnson in for a workout. They liked the workout; he was good in it. I don't know that the Jazz view him as a perfect prospect, but I think that he has enough fans that if he fell to five, he would be the pick there.' Austin Ainge needs to emerge from Wednesday with a prospect ready to contribute now rather than later. The pieces to move forward must be clearly defined to shape Utah's future. The Walker Kessler conundrum Utah Jazz v Los Angeles Clippers The 23-year-old just finished his junior season in comeback fashion, restoring hope that Kessler can be a promising building block of the future. These types of players don't come around that often — Brooklyn's Nic Claxton signed a four-year, $97M contract extension last summer, meaning the Jazz have a big decision ahead of them past the draft. Advertisement The offseason is infamous for washed players building their agenda to return to the NBA through workout videos, and 2025 was no stranger. Walker Kessler got work in with the top-ranked prospect of 2027, Lincoln Cosby, in the Elite Performance Institute. There's nothing like watching your rim-protecting big man power his way to the rim and hit step-back triples against YMCA guys. Just like finding out Bear Grylls was a phoney survivalist, was this merely a performing stunt, considering he'll be eligible for a rookie extension this offseason? He's got all the reasons to — the Jazz are projected to offer him a contract somewhere in the $100M range. Between him and the rest of the young guys, Kessler seems like the most safe player on the roster. Still, the Auburn big man was shopped in trade rumors just a year ago, and the Lakers have maintained interest according to Dave McMenamin. Nothing has progressed to the serious stages of negotiation yet, and it's in Utah's best interest to keep Walker. The Ainge family and Justin Zanik have to be smart with how they use their chess pieces. The Jazz could always wait until next summer to determine what they want to do with Kessler. Thus far, he's been held for a kings ransom to pry him away from Utah. Austin Ainge's conspicuous basketball philosophy 2022 NBA Summer League - Atlanta Hawks v Utah Jazz The Jazz hired their new President of Basketball Operations — Austin Ainge — just over three weeks ago, and his introductory press conference only led to more questions rather than answers. Throughout it all, he made one very strong call. The Jazz weren't going to tank. Advertisement Whether he meant going against sitting half the roster on the injury report or making a legitimate push for the playoffs/play-in, the hiring means things are going to change. After losing 65 games, the results were a disaster for everyone in the front office. Deseret News' Sarah Todd said that his words were no mere performance stunt. 'Is Ainge just saying what he has to say? No. According to multiple team sources, Ainge's words should be taken seriously. The Jazz will not be tanking next year and if that means they lose a lottery pick to the Thunder, so be it.' Given the veteran talent on the roster, the team's growing young core, and Utah's additional draft picks, the team has an abundance of options for the future. The Ainge hiring represents the value and importance of maintaining the franchise's flexibility and development. More from
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Report Emerges on Potential Lakers Trade Target
New Report Emerges on Potential Lakers Trade Target originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Los Angeles Lakers have been tied to Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler for quite some time. They most recently tried to acquire him during the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline. Per a March report from NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers and New York Knicks tried to discuss a trade with the Jazz, but Utah wasn't interested. Advertisement "League sources say that the Knicks were right there with the Lakers in their determination before the trade deadline to try to convince Utah to engage in meaningful Walker Kessler trade talks," Stein wrote. "No dice, though. The Jazz made it clear they wanted no part of entertaining Kessler pitches in-season." Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24).© Soobum Im-Imagn Images Kessler remained with the Jazz for the rest of the season. However, this offseason, Utah might make some changes after hiring Austin Ainge as President of Basketball Operations. The Deseret News' Sarah Todd reported that Kessler is among the players the Jazz would put on the trade market this offseason. "Numerous league sources have indicated that they believe the Jazz are going to be active over the next several weeks," Todd wrote. "...league sources have said that they expect for conversations to include Walker Kessler (who is extension eligible) and Lauri Markkanen." Kessler could be the type of rim protector and vertical threat LA needs alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic. He is also paid on a rookie contract, which is valuable given his production. Advertisement The Jazz also own the Lakers' 2027 first-round pick (top-four protected), so they might be hesitant to help LA in a deal. Then again, they were the third team that helped facilitate the Doncic trade. Related: Celtics-Mavericks Trade Report Surfaces After Cooper Flagg News Related: Lakers Receive Unfortunate News on Potential Mavericks Trade This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Austin Ainge leaving Boston Celtics to join Danny Ainge, Utah Jazz
The Celtics are losing a key member of their front office this offseason as assistant general manager Austin Ainge is leaving to join the Utah Jazz as their new president of basketball operations, a source confirmed to MassLive. ESPN was first to report Ainge's departure. Ainge, 43, has been with the Celtics' organization since 2011 after playing collegiately at BYU. He served as director of player personnel before rising to assistant general manager in the past decade. Advertisement Ainge is the son of Utah Jazz CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge who stepped down as Celtics president of basketball operations in the summer of 2021 after an 18-year tenure in Boston's front office. Danny Ainge joined the Jazz in December 2021 as CEO of basketball operations and alternate governor. The Celtics enter an important offseason coming off a stellar four-year stretch where they made at least the East Finals every season. While they had a disappointing second-round exit to the Knicks this season, they still raised a banner with the 2024 title. The bill is due now as the Celtics will need to make trades this summer to shed salary off their payroll. Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury also changes the equation for the team in the short-term. For now, they lose a longtime fixture in Austin Ainge who has been with the organization for years now. So that'll be a different wrinkle as Brad Stevens and the front office navigate an important summer for the team's future. More Celtics content Read the original article on MassLive.
