Ace Bailey has blunt response to burning Jazz loyalty question after surprise draft pick

Ace Bailey cleared the air on Sunday after rumors swirled that the Rutgers product was less than enthused about heading to Utah.The fifth overall pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft attempted to put those ideas to bed, speaking for the first time at a press conference in Salt Lake City, telling reporters that he’s “blessed to be here.” “No,” Bailey replied when asked if he had any hesitation about reporting to Utah. “No, not at all.I mean, just blessed to be in this position.

Not a lot of people sit in these chairs and have great teammates as I got on [here],” Bailey said.“So I’m just blessed to be here.”ESPN previosuly reported that the Jazz were not one of Bailey’s “preferred destinations” and followed it up with a second report that he had told one unnamed team in a top-five spot in the draft that if they took him, he would not report. All eyes were on Bailey going into the draft, with the prospect himself appearing to try and determine where he would get picked. Bailey reportedly cancelled a workout with the 76ers, who were drafting third overall, before the draft. But since arriving in Utah over the weekend, things have been going well and the Salt Lake City Tribune reported that Bailey, his reps and the Jazz’s front office had been in a good place. Bailey spoke glowingly of his new surroundings, including the more picturesque nature of the city. “As soon as I got off the plane, I didn’t think the mountains was real,” Bailey said.

“I mean, it was so beautiful.Seeing that scenery, just getting off that plane and meeting the coaches — it was all great.”The plan is for Bailey to play in the Salt Lake City Summer League, which runs from July 5-8 and then the NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas beginning on July 10. As for what Bailey is expecting he can do when he steps on the court for the Jazz, it was a little bit of everything as he plans to “trust my work.”“I got great energy.

I mean, I can do everything from ...