Bailey to report to Jazz on Saturday, team says

Ace Bailey, the No. 5 prime successful the NBA draught Wednesday, plans to study to the Utah Jazz arsenic expected Saturday, a squad typical told ESPN.

"We've had bully connection with Ace Bailey and his representatives," the Jazz typical told ESPN connected Friday. "We consciousness bully astir everything. Ace and his household are coming to Utah tomorrow. We'll person a property league Sunday and a signifier Monday.

"This has ever been the plan, including for our different rookies, Walter Clayton and John Tonje -- to fto them spell location and cod their belongings, and past alert close to summertime league from Salt Lake City."

Bailey's predraft strategy had been 1 of the biggest storylines entering this year's draught aft helium canceled a travel to the Philadelphia 76ers, who held the No. 3 pick. He was the lone American subordinate who, entering draught night, hadn't conducted a azygous sojourn to enactment retired for an NBA team.

He besides declined invitations from the Charlotte Hornets and the Jazz, who picked 4th and fifth. Sources from Bailey's campy told ESPN successful the lead-up to the draught that those teams were not among his preferred destinations, with his penchant believed to beryllium Washington, which held the No. 6 enactment and was assertive successful looking to determination up successful the draft, according to teams picking successful the apical five.

For his part, Omar Cooper, Bailey's agent, pushed backmost connected the conception that thing they did during the process was extracurricular of the mean people of business.

"Every NBA squad watched him enactment retired successful Chicago," Cooper antecedently told ESPN. "He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. They watched him tally and jump. They got his measurements. They watched him sprout successful drills.

"No 1 said thing erstwhile Davion Mitchell canceled a workout with the Toronto Raptors for the No. 4 pick. No 1 criticized Evan Mobley erstwhile helium didn't enactment retired for Cleveland, and they drafted him anyway.

"There is thing uncommon astir however Ace Bailey's predraft process was handled."

Bailey, the No. 3 imaginable connected ESPN's large board, was a hotly debated imaginable among NBA teams each season. At 6-foot-9 successful shoes with tantalizing shotmaking ability, helium has the size to beryllium a go-to scoring wing, the astir invaluable positional archetype successful the league. But Bailey was not a peculiarly businesslike scorer and has important country to amended arsenic a shot handler and passer.

"He's great," Utah Jazz president of hoops operations Austin Ainge told reporters successful Salt Lake City connected Wednesday nighttime aft drafting Bailey. "We were capable to talk with him. He was ace excited. We're ace excited. We're expecting a precise agleam future.

"His scoring gets a batch of attention, [and] deservedly so. He's precise skilled for his size. But watching a batch of movie connected him, I was impressed with his antiaircraft effort and peculiarly his rebounding. Lot of weakside artifact shots, and his joyousness and vigor for the game.

"We bash a batch of inheritance calls and enactment connected guys, and everyone loves being astir Ace."

ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.