Ace Bailey has taken an unusual approach to his pre-draft process so far. Even though he and his camp tout the Rutgers forward as a top-3 selection, he’s declined to meet with any teams in the 3-8 pick range. This led Pardon The Interruption’s Michael Wilbon to blast Ace for his “stupid” advice that he’s receiving.
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It’s important to note, Shams Charania of ESPN told Pat McAfee when reporting the topic that it’s an unusual strategy. However, the journalist doesn’t believe it’s affected Ace’s draft stock yet. It may come as a surprise, but teams seem to really like his size and skillset.
Regardless, Wilbon is more of an old-school journalist who likes to see players work out with teams. Specifically, in Ace’s situation, he thinks that for a guy who played on a 15-17 Rutgers team that wasn’t on TV much, it’s a bit dumb not to want to work out with anybody.
“I’m in a crotchety mood today, so I’m going to call this what it is. It’s stupid! Okay? Him and his advisors,” Wilbon exclaimed on PTI.
It’s a bit of a harsh analysis of the situation. But it is a bit strange that Ace is deciding to let his tape speak for itself, more or less. You would think he’d want to win the favor of any team in the top-5 if he touts himself as a top-three pick.
It’s not just the workouts, though. Wilbon also doesn’t like the way Ace said he wants to be on a team with the easiest path to stardom. He thinks it comes off as a bit presumptuous of his abilities.
“I saw what was being leaked about stardom. What that is is just ego-mania. I hope it’s the people above him who are stupidly advising him, or so it appears to me, and not him. And I hope he can separate himself from such stupid advice,” Wilbon said.
It’s the type of behavior that the analyst doesn’t think will fit anywhere in the NBA. And while Wilbon is critical in his assessment, at the very least, it’s hard to disagree with the fact that Ace is putting lofty expectations on himself.
In the end, Wilbon believes the entire approach has been bad from Ace’s camp.
“In the pros, I don’t want that kid anywhere near me until he changes his attitude or until he can look at some maturity at the dopes advising him… It’s stupid and counterproductive, and if that person tried to advise me on anything, I would get the hell out now.”
If we were advising Ace on what to do, we’d tell him to work out with as many teams as he can. But in this new day of scouting, there’s so much that can make a prospect rise and fall at a moment’s notice. Maybe Ace’s camp has good studies that show refusing workouts conjures up more interest in prospects.
All in all, the Rutgers prospect indeed said he believes he’s a top-3 prospect and shared his thoughts on a path to stardom. It’s a bit of a bizarre thing to do and might end up hurting his draft stock. But as of now, there’s no evidence to suggest so. Wilbon would tend to disagree.
