Rutgers guard Ace Bailey was initially pegged as the No. 3 pick for the 2025 NBA draft. However, a lot of teams have been souring on him, as he reportedly refuses to take calls from them, as well as has cancelled a workout with the team likely to draft him at No. 3, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Because of his recent actions, several mock drafts have him sliding down, with some having him at No. 7 instead of No. 3, where he originally was. Many teams are now talking about drafting others instead of him, from VJ Edgecombe to Tre Johnson to Jeremiah Fears.
However, Field of 68 co-founder and basketball analyst Jeff Goodman has reportedly spoken with an insider source on the Ace Bailey situation, and explained that this may have been caused by a combination of Bailey’s “immaturity” and several bad influences, as reported.
One source on the Ace Bailey situation to @TheFieldOf68:
“Ace is a great kid. He’s just immature. Doesn’t take a lot of things seriously. The only thing he wants to do is play basketball. That kid genuinely loves basketball more than any person I’ve ever met. He’s just got…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 24, 2025
“Ace is a great kid. He’s just immature. Doesn’t take a lot of things seriously. The only thing he wants to do is play basketball. That kid genuinely loves basketball more than any person I’ve ever met. He’s just got himself surrounded by some bad characters so I’m not sure how it’s gonna play out for him,” the insider reportedly told Goodman.
“There are definitely some things he needs to get better at on the court but I think he will just because he loves the game so much. If the right person is trying to help him and he takes it in, he’ll be fine,” he added. “But I could definitely see it going the opposite direction too just because of people in his ear. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Bailey is too good to be left out of the top-10 draft picks, but as it stands, he continues to slide down the ranks as he continues to rub teams the wrong way with his actions.
Where will Ace Bailey land after refusing to talk to NBA teams?
Ace Bailey’s slide from No. 3 to below the top five is seemingly inevitable, as the No. 3 and No. 4 teams, the Sixers and the Hornets, are seemingly moving on from him after he has consistently refused to talk to them. The Jazz, which has the No. 5 pick, may have also soured on him after his actions.
This now raises the question of where he will land. Bailey is a top-three talent, which means he is too good for teams to pass up, but the trouble he is generating may have teams getting turned off.
For now, CBS Sports is reporting that his camp is now trying to steer him to go to Washington instead. There is still a chance that the Wizards get turned off by how he has treated the other teams, though, which means he may possibly end up with the No. 7 Pelicans or the No. 8 Nets.
Related: Select Ranking the Top 14 Lottery Picks Ahead of 2025 NBA Draft: Who’s Safe, Who’s Risky?
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