It is the JR Sportbreeze Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
Yeah, Ace Bailey. We don't know where he wanted to go. At this point, he's almost going coast to coast.
This man is going from Rutgers, New Jersey to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz have selected him at number five overall in the first round despite the fact that he hasn't worked or did not work out with anybody. He's worried about whether or not he wants to go.
He didn't know if they wanted him. Who knows what the heck is going on with Ace Bailey, but to talk about his situation and how he fits in or does not fit in with the Utah Jazz and the future. Joining us right now is Ben Anderson, who covers all things Utah Jazz for KSL Sports in Salt Lake City. Ben, how are you? What's up, JR? How the heck you doing, Ben? You good? And I'm doing terrific.
Thanks for having me on. Absolutely. All things considered, were you surprised that Ace Bailey was selected by the Utah Jazz?
Yeah, I was. You know, there was enough smoke that either the Jazz would pass on him and let him fall to Washington or New Orleans or Brooklyn, one of his maybe preferred spots. Or I really thought somebody was going to trade up with Charlotte at number four and try and grab him before he got to five, because if he was there, it seemed like if he was on the board, maybe the Jazz would have the guts to do it. You can't really question what the Angels do.
You don't know what their plan is going to be night to night. We know the Angels and certainly Dad Danny has never been afraid to accumulate and procure talent and potentially move them on as well as as picks. It's in it's in his history.
It doesn't matter where he is. When you think about the talent that is currently on this Utah Jazz roster, and there's a lot of them. Larry Markman has been in trade rumors for the longest. John Collins just opted into his deal.
Walker Kessler in rumors. Who's likely to stay? Who's likely to go? I think Larry Markman is going to stick around in Utah, though he does have the most value on the trade market for the Jazz. I think they're going to keep him around.
I think they like him quite a bit. He likes Utah and that's a good match. But when you look at Colin Sexton and you look at John Collins, I think those are two veterans who have talent and have value on the market with expiring contracts and just don't really fit the Jazz's timeline at the moment.
They're deep in some of those spots as well. So if the Jazz are going to make more moves this summer, which I expect to happen, I think it's going to be those two players specifically. Ben Anderson is here with us.
Covers all things Utah Jazz for KSL Sports. And so how does Ace Bailey fit into all of this? And do you think all these stories coming out now is just stories he's going to show up? Yeah, I talked to Ace last night and he seemed fully invested. He seemed like he was happy with his landing spot.
You know, what else is he going to say at that point? But you've seen the reports that his agent told the team that he wouldn't report if they drafted him. It doesn't sound like if that did happen, it was Utah, which is why I think the Jazz were comfortable bringing him in.
And he immediately becomes a focal point. You know, you look back to the Jazz's history and maybe since Darren Williams in 2005, I don't know they've had a blue trip prospect like this coming in with this combination of size and talent and this much runway and where the Jazz are and how long they've been in this rebuild now. They've been waiting to get a player with this type of potential and they like some of their young guys, but no one has become the man.
And I think that's what they're hoping that AJ or excuse me, that Ace Bailey can develop into. So heading into the first year, knowing that there is an expectation that they'll keep Larry Mark in and that they'll move some other pieces around, how does he fit in in this is rookie season? Of course, apparently he wanted to go somewhere where he'd be a little bit more ball dominant. Don't expect that here with the Utah Jazz out of the gate.
No, I think they'll they'll bring him along slowly and I think they will try to sell to him. Look at how Paul George came along in Indiana. You know, look at how Kawhi Leonard came along when they were in San Antonio. It's not just guys getting a lot of reps right away. Let's put you in a spot where you can be successful, keep you off the ball a little bit. Don't ask you to do too much self-creation and hit shots and get comfortable with the speed of the NBA.
And then we're going to add and we're going to add and we're going to add. And at some point, yes, that on ball playmaking starts to develop, that self-creation starts to develop. But I think they will let him have flashes and glimpses of it. But I don't think they're going to saddle him with too much early on because you can break a guy if you do that.
Yeah, well, especially a guy his age. What has been the fan reaction to the selection of Ace Bailey? Well, you have to understand, going back to the lottery, jazz fans were devastated when they fell from one to five, the worst record in the NBA to the worst spot they could be in the lottery. You know, they set up the entire season to get a guy like Cooper Flag or Ace Bailey. That's what the entire year was about.
Sixty five losses taking fines for resting players. So to put yourself in a spot where they didn't think somebody like that would be on the board, there was pretty clear devastation in Utah. So when Ace Bailey fell and the Jazz actually had the boldness to grab him when he was on the board and not pass and not acquiesce to maybe a bigger market. Jazz fans are thrilled and they're going to be excited to see him next week in Salt Lake City Summer League. Ben Anderson is here with us on the J.R.
Sport Reef show. It feels like the Utah Jazz and it doesn't feel like it's been a reality. They've kind of been on the fringes of the NBA for for quite a few years now. How have things changed with Ryan Smith in charge?
Yeah, Ryan's aggressive. And, you know, he's even been aggressive in this rebuild. This is something that the former owners, the Miller family was never really willing to do. They didn't allow the Jazz to bottom out for long stretches to acquire this type of talent and rebuild that way. And as a result, they never got to the championship.
They got close in the late 90s. But that's, you know, eras ago now in the NBA. It's not even how you build teams anymore. So I think Ryan Smith with Danny Ainge and now Austin Ainge wanted to take a different approach, wanted to try to sink to the bottom rebuild, strip this thing to the studs and build it back up. And they're recognizing the pain in that, you know, just because you fall to the worst record doesn't necessarily mean you get the best player in the draft. And so they're trying to get this thing back together. They've acquired a bunch of young talent.
They just need a couple of the right pieces to fall into place to make everything else make sense. There's talent on the roster, but everybody's just a little bit miscast. Yes, 17 wins last season. What do you expect to see over the next several days and weeks as we move through the draft and in free agency? I won't be surprised if the Jazz are patient.
You know, this is a team that that's not afraid. We remember the big summer when they traded Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. You know, those trades were conducted two months apart. Rudy Gobert was traded the second day of free agency. Donovan Mitchell wasn't traded, if I believe, until September 1st. And then even boy on Bogdanovich, kind of the last piece of that team, wasn't traded until the day before training camp. So if John Collins and Colin Sexton are still on the roster through July into August, that doesn't mean they're actually going to be on the team next year. So I think they're going to make sure that they get some value out of these guys. I wouldn't be surprised if they still try and wait and see if potentially a Giannis Antetokounmpo type of trade pops up as everyone else has kind of spent their trade capital. But if not, they'll make some moves to clear out the roster and they'll be young again and they should be in the lottery once again next year. Well, we know Danny Ainge is quite aggressive.
I mean, can we expect a move, some type of big move, big bang at any point in time? You know, Austin Ainge yesterday said that the Jazz were not involved in conversations with Jalen Brown. And I know that rumor had been floating around. And he said distinctly, you know, that's his former team.
No, they weren't involved in that. Look, if the right player comes along, they run into some issues where, you know, if their pick is only top eight protected next year, if it falls from nine to 30, it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder and they don't want to convey that. But if you're going to guarantee yourself a playoff spot, then you're not that worried about giving up the pick. So if the right opportunity presents itself, I think they'll be aggressive. Otherwise, I still think they're unloading some talent versus adding.
Ben Anderson here with us from KSL Sports. When you think about the fan base, they've been they've been beat up the past couple of seasons. Is there now space and room for optimism?
Yeah, there is absolutely. I think getting a guy like Ace Bailey and even Walter Clayton with the 21st overall pick is going to bring fans back to the stands. And this is as loyal a fan base as you're going to find in the NBA.
And this is pretty uncharted territory for them. You know, several years in a row, missing the playoffs, not really finding the guy. Generally, they've had pretty quick rebuilds. You lose Carl Malone and John Stockton. You get Carlos Boozer and Darren Williams. You lose Gordon Hayward. You get Donovan Mitchell the same summer. This is uncharted territory, but they're going to come back quickly as soon as there's some excitement. Look, it's Utah. There's not a ton to do here in all honesty.
So their fans love this team and they're going to be back. Well, Ben, you talked about communicating with with Ace Bailey. He's going to be coming over from the East Coast. He apparently is a young man of very few words. I've heard him say a million times he can only control what he can control. What have you gathered from everything that you've heard, read and also your interactions with him?
Yeah, I still don't think the Jazz were his preferred destination. And I don't think there's really any secret about that. But even I think his camp, Omar Cooper, has even stepped back a little bit of just saying, look, I'm trying to do my job. I'm trying to put him in the best spot possible.
That's what I was doing before the draft. And it's actually not uncharted territory. And look, because of the way Ace carries himself, because of the way he plays on the floor, he's just he's just loud. He's exciting. He's also controversial. And it's not because he does anything off the floor. Just his style of play, I think, draws a lot of eyes and draws criticism. So there are mixed opinions of him already.
And then the way he handled this pre draft just amplified it. But no, I think everyone in Utah expects him to be here. They'll introduce him, I'd imagine, in the next few days. And he'll make his debut at the Summer League next Saturday. Seeing that this is going to be one big adjustment for him, used to having a ball in his hands all the time, assuming that's the type of situation he wanted to go to. What do you think is the best case scenario for him next season?
What is the worst case scenario? Well, the nice thing is Summer League, I think they'll just let him go. You know, I think that is the type of player who's going to eat in Summer League. He's going to be productive. He gets to play next to Isaiah Collier, who's another former Georgia Player of the Year, another huge recruit who's now been in Utah and really adapted to the environment well.
So those two know each other. So I think that's going to be a nice landing spot for him. And look, even if they play him off the ball, and he's not tasked with being, you know, the number one guy in Utah, you're going to see him on the floor for 25 minutes. I mean, he's going to get as much playing time as he wants. And the Jazz are going to be happy to let him develop because again, he is their top blue chip prospect. And there's not a lot of, you know, place in front of him or people in front of him that are going to eat up his minutes. So I think he's going to see the floor a lot.
I just think they want to make sure that he's developing some good habits before they start really developing some of those other skills. Yeah, Ben, this is this is first time in a while people are going to be paying a whole lot of attention to the Utah Jazz and what they got going on on the basketball court. Hey, Ben, I want to thank you for your time. Please tell everybody where they can follow, listen and keep up with you and all your work. You can find me on Twitter at Ben's Hoops. You can read me at KSL sports dot com. Hey, thank you so much, Ben. We'll catch you down the line.
