Ace Bailey nearly bounded to the podium in the boardroom of the Zions Bank Basketball Campus this week, so ready was he to begin his first NBA season.
“First game, first year, I’m ready. I mean, I’m pumped,” the 19-year-old Utah Jazz rookie said, with a smile plastered to his face. “I don’t got no words for it, I’m so excited.”
With every beginning, though, comes a closure. This month, Bailey cut ties with his former manager Omar Cooper, the controversial figure who played a large role in shaping Bailey’s pre-NBA development. It’s not yet clear who will represent Bailey, but there is a belief the change will eliminate some old distractions.
Now, the attention can turn back to the court, where Bailey has impressed Jazz coaches and his new teammates in open gym sessions leading up to the start of training camp Tuesday.
“His combination of size, length, athleticism and skill is very unique. That’s what really is the first thing that jumps out at you when you see him,” Jazz President of Basketball Operations Austin Ainge said. “But then when you spend some time with him, he is just a really happy, energetic person. He just smiles and brings joy every day in the gym.”
Leaving behind his old agent
The 50-year-old Cooper played a major role in getting Bailey to the NBA. When he was in the eighth grade, Bailey, already known as a bright athlete even as an elementary schooler, met Cooper, who had a good reputation as a prospect trainer. At Cooper’s direction, Bailey moved to Powder Springs, Ga., and joined Cooper’s Athletes of Tomorrow AAU program.
“The plan was to keep Ace in the gym 24/7,” Cooper told NJ.com. “For the most part, it was sunup to sundown for him to be able to turn the corner.”
Turn a corner, he did. Bailey went from promising athlete to one of high school basketball’s biggest stars and a surefire NBA prospect. Bailey attended Rutgers at Cooper’s direction, where Cooper’s friend Brandin Knight is a coach.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Different generations come together as former Utah Jazz player Jeff Hornacek, left, watches the Utah Jazz newly drafted plater Ace Bailey play during the NBA Salt Lake City Summer League game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus, Monday, July 7, 2025.
When it was time to make the jump to the NBA, Cooper once again tried to steer Bailey’s direction. According to multiple reports, Cooper sought to push Bailey towards the No. 6 pick of the NBA Draft and the Washington Wizards, where Cooper felt he could establish a development program around Bailey’s influence. As a result, Cooper reportedly directed Bailey to avoid workouts with teams that owned picks above there, including the Jazz at No. 5.
Bailey’s — really, Cooper’s — quest to influence his draft slot became one of the stories of the 2025 NBA Draft. Rumors flew about Bailey’s maturity level and whether or not the phenom was getting the best advice as he entered the league.
The Jazz, undeterred by the drama, selected Bailey anyway.
And in September, Bailey decided that he’d no longer have Cooper affiliated with his camp. In interviews with reporters on Monday, Bailey owned the decision.
“I feel like I just made the best decision to move forward, to better me and my family and the position that way,” Bailey said.
At this point, it’s not clear who Bailey will select to officially represent him, though a source said the most likely outcome is that he’ll choose one of the NBA’s major agency companies.
Finding a connection with his new teammates
There are people around the Jazz who think the change will be a positive, allowing Bailey to fully focus on the court and gain experience with his new team.
The first step of the process? Helping Bailey fit in with the rest of his teammates.
The Jazz have nine prospects who were selected in the last three drafts, and the group has become tight-knit. Most of the players worked out together in Salt Lake City before and after the summer league period. Third-year guard Keyonte George invited the full group to his hometown of Dallas over the course of four days, where they played basketball, attended an NBA YoungBoy concert, and played video games together.
“Dallas was very fun,” Bailey said. “Being out there working out at the facility with my teammates, I mean the physicality definitely helped me, for sure, when we came back to Utah.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey (19) takes on the Memphis Grizzlies during an NBA Salt Lake City Summer League game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus, Monday, July 7, 2025.
Bailey’s coaching staff, meanwhile, wants him to focus on the defensive end first.
“When it comes to what I want from Ace early on, we’re going to have to focus on a couple of things on the defensive side of the ball. He needs to use his length defensively to be disruptive,” head coach Will Hardy said.
Encouragingly, after an up-and-down defensive performance at Rutgers, Bailey said he wants to embrace the defensive end in the NBA.
“I mean, you gotta be able to play both sides of the ball in this league,” Bailey said. “So I’m just improving on the defensive side — whether it’s just blocking out, getting the rebound, being in the help side gap, just being in the right positions."
But it’s just part of the team-first focus Bailey said he wants to bring to the Jazz.
“I just be that person that my teammate needs,” he said. “Whether it’s get a rebound, clap, get some water, whatever it is. I’m just really pumped for the season.”
And while he’s trying to bring Bailey along with the fundamentals first, it’s clear Hardy is pretty excited about what Bailey brings.
“We’ve not had a wing with his size and length in this building in a long time,” he said.
