Utah Jazz Select Ace Bailey, Pick 5
- Thread starter Jason
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zyzz
Well-Known Member
Givony said his rule of thumb is 1.5 inches for shoes
It’s kinda funny how we ended up Ace and he was one of the least talked about players around here. I don’t think people thought we could get him before the draft, and once we did get him we had this “saga”. We’ve talked very little about his basketball ability.
I honestly think he’s Rudy Gay. He’ll play an offensive style that is unique and few people can pull off, but his effectiveness in terms of winning will always be in question. Defensively he is talented, but he will also leave something to be desired. I don’t think people will have success testing him, and he’ll make some highlight plays in off ball coverage. But his focus will be tested and I don’t think he has the greatest awareness.
Two other comparison points I like are Harrison Barnes and Andrew Wiggins. Both guys had times as ineffective volume scorers and times as effective role players. Ace May toe the line where he’s not good enough to be a primary option and has to fall back into a secondary role to contribute.
He’s a very young prospect. I think the Jazz have a tall task on their hands trying to require his poor habits. Anything could happen, but I expect him to be around that Rudy Gay level. In this draft, I think he’s worthy of the number 5 pick. But I don’t believe we got a prospect that’s much greater than where we drafted him.
I honestly think he’s Rudy Gay. He’ll play an offensive style that is unique and few people can pull off, but his effectiveness in terms of winning will always be in question. Defensively he is talented, but he will also leave something to be desired. I don’t think people will have success testing him, and he’ll make some highlight plays in off ball coverage. But his focus will be tested and I don’t think he has the greatest awareness.
Two other comparison points I like are Harrison Barnes and Andrew Wiggins. Both guys had times as ineffective volume scorers and times as effective role players. Ace May toe the line where he’s not good enough to be a primary option and has to fall back into a secondary role to contribute.
He’s a very young prospect. I think the Jazz have a tall task on their hands trying to require his poor habits. Anything could happen, but I expect him to be around that Rudy Gay level. In this draft, I think he’s worthy of the number 5 pick. But I don’t believe we got a prospect that’s much greater than where we drafted him.
Rudy Gay was a very good player for a few years That would not be so bad
framer
Well-Known Member
Jazz draft a lot of white guys? More than any other team? Jazz have drafted like 4 white guys since Enes Kanter (the last 21 picks that they kept.) This **** is pretty tired.
framer
Well-Known Member
Other than being about the same height, uber athletic, and able to hit the midrange they really don't have similar play styles. Young Rudy played in the post and bullied people with his athleticism. He was never a prolific 3 point shooter (maybe an artifact of the league when he played.) He also wasn't great at getting his own shot and had to be assisted more often. Ace's stroke is textbook and quick. He has a much better handle than Rudy Gay to get to his "spot." I have not watched Ace play NBA defense yet, but I suspect he will be a better defender too, especially on the perimeter. Rudy was solely a SF, while Ace can play large at guard.
I will say that if you could add Rudy's strengths to what Ace has, he could be the best player in this draft and a definitely the "first option" we have been looking for. That's a long, tall ask though.
None of those three (Gay, Barnes, Wiggins) would be terrible outcomes and they were all top-5 prospects at one point.
I will say though - at least in the case of Barnes / Gay - they struck me as the type to not quite live up to their billing due to some combination of 1) lack of top-end competitive fire or 2) lack of an alpha/killer mentality (I'm painting with a broad brush here).
In Ace's case, I'd say the opposite of true. He is raw, his game is unrefined, and there's seemingly a long way to go in terms of maturity. But he's super confident and plays balls out. Rutgers sucked this year and they were a painful watch but this dude goes HARD. If his career goes the way of those 3 (again - not awful at #5) I think his limitations will be something other than lack of fire or just not caring enough.
The size, athleticism , affinity for the mid range, and unfortunately the low bbiq/feel are the defining characteristics of both players. You can nitpick on the fine details of how they played, but the output will be similar. You’re also clearly forgetting the player Rudy Gay was if you think he was not a self creating player.
I didn’t mean it to come off as a negative outcome. I don’t approach these things as a fan or a hater, it’s just how I view him as a player.
TBH, I think the thing that was lacking for Barnes/Wiggins/Gay was the basketball IQ/feel side of things. That’s the main thing that kept them from being more similar to the star wings they shared some characteristics with. But I don’t think you’re totally off base. Wiggins especially had a low motor. I think Ace has a pretty good motor, but he’s still lacking in other mental aspects of the game.
His shot distribution at Rutgers was just criminal. It will come down to his willingness and capacity to change.
Thee Jazz Fan
Well-Known Member
I was a big Tre guy because I didn’t think we’d get Ace. But a few days before there was talk of VJ and Kon moving up so I started concentrating on Ace a little bit.
He’s way more athletic plays with a lot more spirit and by far the better defender.
Pre draft I said that whoever we pick I'll go and watch their highlight package instead of the hits and misses videos like I had been doing pre-draft. I haven't ended up doing that with Ace because I know that even his highlight package won't get me excited. For every incredible play he makes you can see the 2 or 3 smarter plays he could have made. I remember watching his 39pt game he had and being incredibly underwhelmed by the amount of bad shots he took. It's definitely a concern.
That said, I'm guessing he is the youngest player we have ever drafted (I think he's slightly younger than Exum was when he was drafted). I think that Ace is coachable. I think Ace can do superstar things. I think we have to hope that our coaching staff can turn Ace in to a winning type player. We probably don't see any of that right away and so we'll have to be a little patient. I would think the easiest thing for him to learn quickly is shot distribution, so hopefully by the end of the year go from like a 60% long two guy, to like a 30% long two guy.