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Following Ace Bailey's standout freshman campaign at Rutgers, the wing looked like a top-five prospect. Until recently, most mock drafts had Bailey being selected No. 3 by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Despite the fact that the young star remains No. 3 on ESPN's big board, he has fallen to the No. 6 projected pick. Here's a look at the top three reasons why Bailey's has experienced a decrease in his draft stock.
Top 3 reasons why Ace Bailey's draft stock is crashing
#1. Denying team workout invitations
Ace Bailey's refusal to work out with teams has emerged as the glaring issue preventing him from being drafted as early as he was once projected. He is the only U.S. prospect who has not visited an NBA team facility.
He has rejected workout invitations from the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz, all of whom have picks within the top five.
Despite this, Bailey's camp reports that it feels "confident going into the draft process," suggesting that he has been in contact with a team outside of the top five that has promised to select him and offers a more appealing plan for his long-term development.
#2. Unimpressive shooting and playmaking at Rutgers
Ace Bailey came to Rutgers as the No. 2 recruit in his high school class behind Cooper Flagg. Although he had a productive season in which he led the Scarlet Knights in rebounds per game (7.2) and added a team second-best 17.6 points per game, some issues emerged.
The freshman averaged 2.0 turnovers and just 1.3 assists per game, making him tied for 164th in assist percentage amongst the 173 Division I players with 500-plus minutes and a usage percentage equal to or greater than Bailey's.
Bailey also came up short in true-shooting percentage. Of 1,103 DI players who took at least 100 3-pointers this season, he was tied for 664th in true shooting percentage.
While Bailey's freshman season was admirable, concerns surrounding his skill set have caused his draft stock to drop.
#3. Disappointing NBA combine
Bailey didn't perform as well as expected at the NBA combine. His standing vertical, max vertical and time in the lane agility drill were all around the middle of the group of prospects invited. The wing was measured at 6-foot-7.5, two and a half inches shorter than he was listed at Rutgers.
On Tuesday, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shared intel about Bailey's communication with teams at the combine.
"His pre-draft interviews with teams at the NBA Draft Combine did not go particularly well, as it seemed like he went into them a bit ill-prepared for what was being asked of him, according to sources," Vecenie wrote. "They weren’t so bad as to knock him off of anyone’s board, but they raised further questions about what exactly has been happening with his pre-draft process, as he’s largely been shielded from teams."Bailey's unpromising combine performance further added to the dip in his draft stock.
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