The pressure was real. Rumors swirled. The noise was deafening. But Austin Ainge? He wasn’t afraid of the moment.
With two picks in a draft full of uncertainty, the Jazz front office ignored the outside chatter, the whispers about preferred destinations, the so-called “safe” options. They stared down public perception and swung for the upside. Twice.
At No. 5, they took the best player on their board — even if the league thought he wouldn’t dare step foot in Utah.
Later that night, they made another aggressive move — packaging No. 21, 43, and two future second-round picks to leap up to 18 in a trade with the Washington Wizards. Their target? A national champion. A walking bucket. A guard who knows how to win.
The Jazz didn’t play by anyone else’s rules. They trusted the work. They trusted their evaluations. They got their guys.
So, who are the newest faces of the Utah Jazz?
Let me introduce you to…
2025 NBA Draft - Round One Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Pick #5 - Ace Bailey | W/F | Rutgers
The headlines said he didn’t want to come. The Jazz said TOO DARN BAD.
Despite weeks of rumors suggesting Ace Bailey was angling for a different team, Utah stayed true to its board and took the 6’8” forward out of Rutgers with the fifth overall pick. It’s a bold swing — one that signals exactly where the franchise is headed: upside, athleticism, and long-term star potential.
It honestly shouldn’t be a surprise that the Jazz ended up with Ace Bailey. The Ainge family loves their wings—always have. From Jayson Tatum to Jaylen Brown in Boston, to Taylor Hendricks and now Cody Williams in Utah, there’s a clear trend here: long, athletic forwards with size, scoring upside, and switchability. Ace fits that mold perfectly. He’s the kind of prospect they bet o — tools-first guys with the frame and flashes to become real difference-makers in a playoff setting. If you’re 6’8” or taller, can shoot it, finish above the rim, and guard multiple positions? You’re probably on an Ainge draft board, and I imagine that the Utah Jazz would have had major conversations about drafting Ace even if they had landed the 2nd overall pick in the draft to rival Dylan Harper.
Bailey is one of the most physically gifted players in the class. Standing 6’8” with a 7’0” wingspan and elite vertical pop, he’s a blur in transition and a lob threat from anywhere inside the halfcourt. He moves like a wing and has the tough-shot-making ability to match, blending Rashard Lewis’s scoring craft with Andrew Wiggins-level athleticism. One thing that jumps off the screen with Ace is just how many different ways he can get a bucket. Spot-up threes? Money. Relocation triples where he drifts to the corner after the pass? Yup. One-dribble pull-ups from the elbow, or late-clock fadeaways in the mid-post — he’s checked every box on the tape. He’ll lull you with a smooth catch-and-shoot, then hit you with a hard jab, rip left, take two long strides, and pull up and knock it down in your face. Bottom line: the kid’s going to score a lot of points on the Utah Jazz.
But it’s not just tools — it’s flashes. Weak-side rim protection. Step-back jumpers. One-dribble pull-ups in transition. When it clicks, it looks like a future All-Star.
Of course, Bailey isn’t a finished product. His handle is loose, and he’s not yet a primary option in the halfcourt. The playmaking is underdeveloped, and he struggled at times to generate clean looks against set defenses. But for a team willing to be patient — and develop him properly, Ace offers one of the highest ceilings in the class. The floor-spacing, athleticism, and defensive tools make him projectable even if the on-ball juice never fully arrives.
For the Jazz, this is about betting on the rare blend of size, speed, and skill. It’s about swinging for upside in a rebuild that needs top-end talent. It’s about trusting the culture and the coaching staff to bring out what others might fear.
One of my favorite things about this pick is how it highlights the “New Ainge” era. It has been stated by beat reporters that Austin Ainge is coming in “unmarried” to the previous draft selections in recent years and is open to moving anybody on the roster. Austin Ainge is more aggressive and more willing to make moves.
I have been quite the critic on Ace Bailey, and I have also been up and down on Ace Bailey, but one thing I have to put out there is that I am 100% rooting for this kid. The Jazz need Ace to hit; he just has to. Come this time next year, we need to know for sure that Ace can be a starter at the very minimum for the foreseeable future; otherwise, it might be time to hit the panic button.
Like I said, I am choosing to be very optimistic about this kid. Ace is the highest pick we have had since Dante Exum in 2014 at No. 5, and the Utah Jazz are going to do everything in their power to make this kid a star — I believe they can. This IS the best place for Ace Bailey to grow and develop. We are going to give him the reps, we are going to give him the correct development path, we have an amazing staff and infrastructure, and most importantly, we have the time for patience. There is no need to rush his development and turn him into a star now; the most important thing is how we can develop Ace into a high-level & IMPACTFUL star 5 years from now.
Considering the other rumored options, my grade on this pick is an A-
2025 NBA Draft - Round One Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Pick #18 - Walter Clayton Jr. | G | Florida
This front office doesn’t move up in the draft for no reason. Trading 21 (which ended up being Will Riley), 43, and two future seconds to go get Walter Clayton Jr at 18 is a pretty loud message: they think this guy can hoop. Not just in the future — right now.
It’s also a message about the current guard room. With Keyonte George, Collin Sexton, Isaiah Collier, and Jordan Clarkson all still on the roster, adding another guard — an older one, a national champion, one with a polished offensive game — feels like the start of a shift. Something’s got to give.
Walter Clayton Jr. can flat-out score. He’s a clean shooter with real volume and deep range, hitting over 85% from the free-throw line and drilling threes off the catch and the bounce at a high rate. He’s poised, efficient, and doesn’t waste dribbles. When you watch him play, it’s clear: he knows exactly what he wants to do with the ball. Whether he’s running the offense or playing off it, he’s comfortable. He makes good decisions. He doesn’t force bad shots. And when it’s time to go get a bucket, he doesn’t need much space.
He’s also stronger than he looks. He can take contact, finish through bumps, and hold his own defensively. He’s not a highlight athlete, but he plays with control and knows how to stay in front.
This is a Jazz-style guard: smart, skilled, efficient. Doesn’t need 18 shots to make an impact. Doesn’t need the ball to be useful, and most importantly, he just wins.
From a team-building standpoint, this pick makes a lot of sense. If the Jazz are serious about building a sustainable backcourt, they’re going to need guards who can shoot, make quick reads, and play both on and off the ball. That’s exactly what Clayton brings — and why Utah was willing to jump up and grab him before someone else did.
I am super excited to watch Walter Clayton Jr play basketball for the Jazz this year. He is another Ainge-type of pick, reminiscent of Payton Pritchard — A tough guard who can dribble, pass, and shoot, who is also a scalable, high-level scorer. I truly believe that Walter Clayton could be the best Jazz guard on the roster the day he walks into the training facility, and he could find himself getting minutes over other highly valued guards as soon as October.
My draft grade for Walter Clayton is a B+. A great value pick, and in my opinion, better than Jeremiah Fears.