Utah
Ryan Smith on Ace Bailey coming to Utah: ‘He’ll feel love like he’s never felt before’
SALT LAKE CITY — Austin Ainge called landing Ace Bailey a “dream scenario” for the Utah Jazz — and he’s likely not the only one in Utah who feels that way.
For three seasons now, Jazz fans have had to endure an unclear rebuild, looking for a youngster to pin their future hopes on.
Is that Taylor Hendricks? Cody Williams? Keyonte George? Isaiah Collier? Kyle Filipowski? The early returns are … no. Sure, all could end up being helpful players, but franchise-altering guys? That’s a stretch.
After the Jazz fell to No. 5 in the lottery, it once again looked like the team would miss out on that type of talent.
But Bailey — a consensus top-three pick for much of the last year due to his unique scoring ability — was still on the board when Utah’s pick came up.
Sure, there were red flags (shot selection, defensive intensity, a disappointing freshman year, and everything about how he handled the draft), but his All-NBA talent was obvious.
So in the end, it didn’t matter that his pre-draft process was a bit unorthodox … or that he refused to work out for any team … or that he (or his camp) reportedly wanted him to land in Washington, Brooklyn or New Orleans … the Jazz bet on Bailey’s upside — and took their swing at a star.
“Our philosophy and where we’re at as a team is we want to take the best player on the board, and we love Ace,” Jazz owner Ryan Smith said on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. “I got a chance to talk to Ace last night, and all I saw was a kid who was humble. He was grateful. He was excited to be in the NBA. And I think that’s all you can ask for from our standpoint.”
As for Bailey’s apparent hesitancy to come to Utah — a place he’s never visited before — Smith isn’t worried. The Jazz owner said it’s natural for people to be uncomfortable, but he thinks Bailey will fit right in with the organization and the state.
“Probably doesn’t have a lot of experience out west, here with Utah. That’s our job to go make him love it,” Smith said.
With the Jazz, Bailey should have a long runway to develop. The Jazz have long lacked a go-to wing, and he’ll likely get opportunity — and shots — from the start.
Utah might not have been Bailey’s preferred destination, but Smith is betting it becomes the right one.
“I think the picture is our head can lead us to a really weird spot. It limits all the opportunities in front of us,” Smith said. “I think if you went down the entire draft board and said, ‘What is everyone’s preferred destination?’ It is probably not the right move for them that they think it is in their head.”
Bailey’s pre-draft process was one of the bigger stories leading into the draft. ESPN even reported that Bailey’s representatives informed a team drafting inside the top five not to take him, and that he wouldn’t report if they did.
Bailey’s agent Omar Cooper defended the pre-draft decisions, telling ESPN: “Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago. He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements.”
Cooper, though, declined to address questions about the Utah Jazz or Bailey’s future with the franchise when asked by ESPN.
Cause for concern? Not to Smith.
“I’m confident in our state. I know that he’ll feel love like he’s never felt before,” the Jazz owner said. “People are fired up to have him. And the reality is, there’s nothing that Ace and others can’t accomplish here.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
The Utah Jazz are rolling into a big offseason before they into what’s projected to be a wildly different-looking 2026-27 campaign from what they had just seen this past 22-win season.
But before that season is able to get underway, the Jazz have some priorities to address in the offseason––both in terms of constructing their roster and retaining a few key pieces from last year’s group into next year.
That makes their salary cap situation and everything around it important to be aware of in the next few months. So with that in mind, we’ve put together an offseason cap tracker for a glimpse of what the Jazz are dealing with in terms of cap space, contracts, and any of their own free agents hitting the open market.
Let’s break it down:
Maximum Possible Cap Space: $24.7M
The Jazz are currently projected at just under $25 million in cap headed into the summer. That’s without any additional moves made to the roster from how they’re entering the offseason, and without factoring in any free agents’ pending cap holds.
That number is bound to get smaller once the Jazz hash out their contract situation for Walker Kessler, but it could also see an uptick if Utah were to shed salary with some of their non-guaranteed deals, or any other player they wanted to pivot from.
As of now, it allows the Jazz to make a couple of moves around the edges in free agency, but the main focus will lean on signing Kessler to a long-term deal.
Contracts
A glimpse of the Jazz’s contract values for the 2026-27 season, and when they’re slated to hit free agency from their current deals:
– Jaren Jackson Jr.: $49.0M, ’29 PO
– Lauri Markkanen: $46.1M, ’29 UFA
– Ace Bailey: $9.5M, ’29 RFA
– Keyonte George: $6.5M, ’27 RFA
– John Konchar: $6.1M, ’27 UFA
– Cody Williams: $6.0M, ’28 RFA
– Brice Sensabaugh, $4.8M, ’27 RFA
– Svi Mykhailiuk: $3.8M*, ’28 UFA
– Kyle Filipowski: $3.0M, ’28 RFA
– Isaiah Collier: $2.7M, ’28 RFA
– Hayden Gray: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Bez Mbeng: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Blake Hinson (two-way), ’27 RFA
Total: $142.1M
*- non-guaranteed
The biggest chunk of the Jazz’s salary leans on their top two veterans, Markkanen and Jackson Jr., each making a combined $95 million next season alone.
However, the rest of the roster isn’t taking up much money. No one else will be making more than $10 million, and their payroll is a little less than $150 million in total.
Another noteworthy fact: the Jazz’s key roster pieces outside of George and Sensabaugh are all under contract through the next two seasons.
Both of the aforementioned names are also bound to see extension discussions take place this summer, which might lock in their future for even longer.
Free Agents
A look at who from this season’s roster is set to hit the free agent market in July:
– Kevin Love (UFA)
– Jusuf Nurkic (UFA)
– Walker Kessler (RFA)
– Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way)
– Elijah Harkless (two-way)
The biggest name of note is, of course, the Jazz’s restricted free agent big man, Walker Kessler, who Utah is bound to hand a big payday, but it remains to be seen how much that contract––or offer sheet from another team––will be.
Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love have also expressed their desire to return to the roster as they hit free agency. Re-signing both likely wouldn’t cost much for the Jazz financially, but instead relies on a question of whether the roster space is readily available to keep both.
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Utah
Golden Knights vs. Mammoth Game 1 prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bets for Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Utah Mammoth is going to be a trendy underdog pick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Not only does Utah have the novelty of this being its first-ever appearance in the postseason going for it, but the Mammoth tick plenty of other boxes that punters look for in a dark horse. They’re fast, dynamic, and create plenty of quality scoring chances.
The only problem is that they are running into the Vegas Golden Knights, arguably the best defensive team in the Western Conference, in Round 1.
Vegas is a -170 favorite to win the series, and it is -152 to win Game 1 on Sunday night.
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights odds, prediction
The Golden Knights had a weird season. Vegas started hot, took its foot off the pedal, and struggled to regain its form down the stretch. That led to a surprising coaching switch late in the campaign, but the move paid immediate dividends as John Tortorella led the Knights to a 7-0-1 record in his eight games behind the bench.
It should be noted that Tortorella benefited from an easy schedule since taking over in Vegas, but it’s hard to deny that the team looks sparked with a new voice in their ear.
What’s especially encouraging for Vegas is that its most glaring weakness, the play of goaltender Carter Hart, has started to trend in the right direction at the exact right time.
And Vegas is so good in its own zone that Hart doesn’t need to stand on his head to get the team over the line against Utah. If he’s just average, the Knights will stand a chance, especially since Utah’s goaltending situation is just as much of a question mark.
Betting on the NHL?
Outside of Vejmelka outplaying Hart, the Mammoth will also need to get this series on their terms if they want to pull the upset. Utah grades out as a slightly above-average defensive outfit, but its strength is up front with dynamic playmakers like Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller, plus sharp-shooter Dylan Guenther.
For those stars to have an impact, the Mammoth will need to get Vegas to open up and engage in a back-and-forth style. I just don’t see that happening with a team that was so disciplined in its own zone all season. The Knights led the NHL in expected goals against and high-danger chances conceded at 5-on-5, which shouldn’t be a shocker given the personnel in Sin City.
Not only does Vegas boast a deep blueline, but forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone are regarded as two of the best defensive minds in the entire sport.
Perhaps Utah can blitz Vegas and pull the upset, but I’d need a bigger number to go against the experienced, defensively savvy Knights in a best-of-7.
And if you’re looking for a play with more upside, have a good look at Vegas to pull off the sweep at 12/1.
The Play: Vegas moneyline (-152) | Vegas to sweep the series (12/1, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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