The 2025 NBA Draft is coming in just a few days, with the Philadelphia 76ers inching closer to making a very important call from their draft room. Ahead of the annual event, the front office is ramping up its efforts to place the team in the best position, whether it be by staying put at No. 3 or further exploring ways to make the most out of their prized asset.
In one of the more interesting, if not perplexing developments in the lead up to the draft, Ace Bailey, who was long projected as a top-three prospect in this year’s draft, has thwarted draft conventions, refusing to meet with any teams picking in the high lottery range. Aside from maybe Amar’e Stoudemire in 2002, this has never happened before with a prospect expected to get selected very early.
The 76ers have been eyeing him for quite some time now, and while this development does not seem to faze Philly one bit, one might wonder whether his camp’s questionable stance could have a significant effect on his draft stock. Some people think that the Rutgers star is receiving bad advice, but so far, he himself has not resisted the “advances” by his party.
However, this new report might just explain this unconventional pre-draft maneuvering of theirs.
Ace Bailey giving the 76ers a soft “no” makes sense now
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey (subscription required), Bailey’s agency has a definite destination in mind, which explains why the incoming rookie had skipped and/or delined all pre-draft workouts, including an esrtwhile scheduled one with the 76ers.
“Multiple league sources said Bailey’s agent, Omar Cooper, wanted the Sixers to commit to him before his scheduled Friday workout. One league executive believes that Bailey, once a consensus top-three pick, probably will drop in the draft because of his agency’s tactics. Bailey remains the only American-based draft prospect to not visit any teams for a workout. Another league executive believes that the agency wants Bailey to remain on the East Coast and play somewhere between Atlanta and New York.”
The first sentence was already made public, much to the chagrin of people around the 76ers. Bailey (or his agency at the very least) demanding that Philadelphia’s front office make a promise to him before he proceeds with his scheduled private workout makes zero sense, although as said, this has not yet prompted the 76ers into abandoning the possibility of still picking him.
The final statement, however, is very telling of what they have in mind at this point. It seems like people around Bailey want him to remain on the East Coast, and reading along those lines, there is only one tenable landing spot for him — the Nets.
Brooklyn, however, is positioned to pick eighth in the draft, meaning that it would take a barrage of teams shockingly passing up on Bailey to even get there. Nevertheless, it is not far-fetched to infer at this point that his agency wants him to fall to No. 8 and get to the Nets, even if that means leaving a bitter impression on other teams, as that would exactly usher in that very scenario.
Unlike the 76ers, which already have a slew of talented players and would only need complementary contributions from an incoming rookie, the Nets are more of a blank canvas. Theoretically speaking, Bailey could certainly grab the limelight for himself and be the man, so to speak, in Brooklyn.
The Philadelphia 76ers have not ruled out picking Ace Bailey yet, but it would be very surprising if they select the guy who seemingly wants to be the main character. The franchise surely needs a high-ceiling prospect like him, but the off-court intangibles matter just as much.