Jazz No. 5 overall pick Ace Bailey has impressed the organization with his energy in his first summer league outings, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon writes. Bailey sealed the Jazz’s victory in their first game with a pair of free throws and showcased physicality and impressive defensive effort in the game.
“*All that stuff isn’t talked about enough,” coach Will Hardy said of Bailey’s willingness to defend and rebound. “The offense will come. He’s learning a new system and new people and has been worked hard the last four days [in practice]. He’s an NBA body and athlete. He’s a great teammate too. I’ve had nothing but positive reviews from all the coaches and his teammates this first week.*”
In other news, the Jazz planned to have the son of Bailey’s advisor, Omar Cooper Jr., serve as a guest coach during summer league. However, after the league office contacted Utah to raise concerns, that’s no longer the case.
We have more notes from the Jazz:
Although there was outside noise about whether or not he wanted to be in Utah, Bailey confirmed he’s focused on being the best player he can be for Utah in an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Tony Jones (Subscriber link). “*Of course, you have to be aware of the business side of basketball,” Bailey said. “But I didn’t ask for all of this to come with it. I just want to hoop. I want to keep the main thing the main thing and stay focused. During pre-draft, I was surrounded by family and love. I’m big on family and loyalty. They were there for me even before I was Ace Bailey.*”
Two-way signee RJ Luis‘s contract covers two years with Utah, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). Luis averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds for St. John’s last season but went undrafted in June.
By sending out assets or taking back modest returns — or nothing at all — for the trifecta of Collin Sexton, John Collins and Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz are signaling that they’re resetting the franchise’s foundation, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes (Subscriber link). When the Jazz traded away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in 2022, the goal wasn’t to be as uncompetitive as they’ve been. With new president of basketball operations Austin Ainge in tow, making those trades and drafting Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. are among the first steps in the renewal process.
Brice Sensabaugh looked like the best player on the floor in the Jazz’s second summer league game and his improvement on the defensive end is certainly of note, Larsen writes in another post. While Sensabaugh playing summer league heading into his third year could be looked at as a disappointment, Larsen points out that such a move paid dividends for Walker Kessler.