What the Utah Jazz said about the Jaylen Brown trade rumors and drafting Ace Bailey

Rumors were swirling before draft night even began about the Utah Jazz’s potential all-star ambitions.

Turns out, they were focused on future stars, not current ones.

Utah’s new president of basketball operations, Austin Ainge, insisted he wasn’t involved in trade talks for Celtics star Jaylen Brown, as was reported this week.

“I don’t like to confirm or deny rumors, just as a policy,” Ainge said. “But I will this time. No, that hasn’t happened [regarding Brown]. No conversations that way.”

It was previously reported that Ainge was shopping the fifth pick, and potentially other assets, to get Brown to Utah.

Instead, Ainge had his eyes on Rutgers wing Ace Bailey and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr.

Ainge identified Bailey as a player he wanted to draft at five, and thought he would be available. Bailey was largely seen as a top-three prospect in the draft, behind Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper.

“It’s kind of what we predicted before the draft,” Ainge said of the final draft order. “Sat down and looked at our paper and said, ‘What would be the best case scenario?’ And these were the two guys we really wanted.”

Off the Jazz go with prospects, not proven stars.

Does Bailey want to be in Utah?

Utah successfully secured Bailey’s move to the Wasatch Front, but there might be a reason he was available for the Jazz to take.

Bailey was a lightning rod in the pre-draft process for his refusal to work out for certain teams drafting inside the top five. He didn’t work out for the Philadelphia 76ers, who had the third pick.

ESPN reported Bailey wanted to land in Washington, New Orleans or Brooklyn. Utah wasn’t among his “preferred destinations” and he didn’t work out for the Jazz, either.

But Utah wasn’t concerned with Bailey’s supposed preferences and had no hesitation picking him

“It’s not super uncommon” for a player to not come in for a workout, Ainge said. “Been through it many times through the years, and we were able to meet with Ace at the combine and speak in person. Saw him play a lot, being a highly rated high school player and college player. So we got to see him quite a bit.”

Bailey said he was ready to come to Utah after he was drafted and wasn’t worried about reports.

“I’ve just been focusing on basketball,” Bailey said. “That’s the main thing. That’s why I’m here, just to play the basketball side. I let my family and stuff deal with other stuff.”

The late-round uncertainty

The Jazz thought Bailey would be there at five, but were less certain about Clayton.

Ainge loved Clayton going back to his days at Iona, before he won a national title as Florida’s lead guard.

Ainge tried to gauge other teams’ interest in Clayton who were drafting after the lottery and up to pick No. 21, where the Jazz were originally slotted.

Ultimately, Ainge pulled the trigger to trade up to No. 18 to make sure Clayton was still available. The Jazz gave Washington pick No. 21 and multiple second-round picks, according to ESPN.

“It’s impossible to know who likes a guy and where they’re going to go,” Ainge said. “We started making calls quite a bit before pick 21 [to know] where guys were slated. We were worried. So we were just trying to move up all along the line until Washington got an offer they liked.”

Clayton surprised

It’s a different scenario than Bailey, but Clayton may have been equally surprised to be taken by Utah.

He didn’t work out for the Jazz and only knew Utah was a “possibility” but far from a sure bet.

“We had some conversations after I got drafted tonight. They like my skill set,” he said. “They think I can bring something great for the team.”

But maybe it shouldn’t have been such a shock.

Ainge eyed Clayton even when he was more of an athletic guard at Iona than an elite prospect. It’s the shooting that is so intriguing; Clayton shot over 35% from three all four years of college on a large volume.

“Saw him play a lot at Iona, and obviously we all saw him at the magical run this year,” Ainge said. “He is tough, smart, an amazing shooter, athletic and mature. I mean, obviously you win as many games as he has, and you’re an accomplished player already.”

One thing Ainge added: He doesn’t love to give agents, or players, an indication they are interested in picking them — potentially explaining some of the surprise.

“There’s trades and everything. And sometimes if you just keep that information private, it’s easier to maneuver around,” he said.

Back to Bailey

Bailey may have tried to downplay the reports swirling around his “preferred destinations,” but it will follow him into summer league.

The main discussion of the first round, after Flagg, was Bailey’s landing spot. When he wound up in Utah, pundits at CBS Sports proclaimed that, “it’s easy to call the last few weeks a PR failure.”

Bailey is set to play in both summer leagues, starting on July 5 in Salt Lake.