With the 2025 NBA Draft set for this week, teams and league insiders have filled headlines with speculation about where top prospects will land.
Many believe that Duke's top talent, Cooper Flagg, will be the No. 1 overall pick that will land with the Dallas Mavericks, but outside of that, there are no guarantees with how the draft will play out.
One prospect making headlines is Rutgers guard/forward Ace Bailey, who's had a drama-filled few days after reports surfaced that he refused to work out for any team ahead of the draft.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) holds the ball while defended by a USC Trojans guard.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) holds the ball while defended by a USC Trojans guard.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The reasoning behind the fiasco, per reports, is that he wants to be drafted by a team that sets him up as a top option in line for success in the NBA.
ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony believes that Ace Bailey will be selected within picks No. 4-6 to either the Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, or Washington Wizards, but teams picking behind those slots could make an aggressive move up and take the Rutgers standout.
"We have Ace Bailey at six right now to Washington. That is understood right now to be one of the preferred destinations. Six, seven, or eight. Washington, New Orleans, or Brooklyn... Does Washington decide to move to four to get ahead of New Orleans or Brooklyn," Givony said on Monday.
Ace Bailey has dropped a few slots in mock drafts after the news broke out that he has a few preferred teams that he wants to be drafted by on Wednesday.
Although nothing has been confirmed and these are all rumors leading up to draft day, it seems that the Rutgers prospect has a plan in mind and is ready to take the league by storm. Potentially with the Washington Wizards.
In his one year at Rutgers University, Ace Bailey was paired up with other top draft prospect Dylan Harper and averaged 17.6 PTS, 7.2 REB, 1.3 AST, 1.3 BLK, and 1.0 STL per game while shooting 46% from the field in 30 games played last season.