Alongside Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, Rutgers forward Airious “Ace” Bailey is one of the big names in this draft cycle that most teams in the lottery would like to draft. Here is a ranking of the best fits for Ace Bailey among the five teams at the bottom of the standings in the NBA this season.
Ranking The Best Fit For Ace Bailey Among Bottom 5 Teams
#1: Toronto Raptors
Out of all the teams in this ranking, the Toronto Raptors fit the best for Bailey and his play style. Particularly, the Raptors will benefit extremely from Bailey’s shot-making abilities and his overall shooting talent. Outside of someone like Gradey Dick, Toronto lacks a true shot-making threat out on the perimeter, so getting Bailey will alleviate that issue for them. Additionally, Bailey’s size at 6-foot-10 fits the identity of the Raptors, which is having positional size over opponents. As for Bailey, he will benefit from the defensive and playmaking pieces on the Raptors roster. He will also have Scottie Barnes as a running mate who can share the offensive burden with Bailey. Overall, both parties would benefit immensely from one another. For that reason, Toronto fits Bailey best.
#2: Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards go second in this ranking, as they too can tremendously benefit from Bailey and they have good personnel to surround him. Specifically, the Wizards lack a true long-term offensive threat who can command attention from opposing defenses. With Bailey, they will have a player who can be that threat on all three levels. In turn, the Wizards have an excellent defensive core of Bilal Coulibaly and Alexandre Sarr which Bailey can add his talents to. Additionally, Bailey will have offensive help in players like Jordan Poole or Bub Carrington. Given the good fit, the Wizards get to be towards the top of the ranking.
#3: Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are third in this ranking as they can be a good fit for Bailey. The Jazz has plenty of offensive players who can help share the load with Bailey. In particular, Bailey will have a co-star in Lauri Markkanen, which would be a deadly forward combo. Not only that, but the Jazz has talented center depth in Walker Kessler and Kyle Filipowski to be a defensive force next to Bailey. The only concern in terms of fit with the Jazz is that Markkanen and Bailey has similar play styles. However, Markkanen does play around the rim more than Bailey and has more size. Overall, the Jazz can be a good landing place for Bailey and thus go third in this ranking.
#4: New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans land fourth in this ranking as they are not as seamless a fit for Bailey as the teams above. Specifically, the Pelicans have a crop of forwards who are starting caliber. Those forwards are Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III. With the trio of them, New Orleans already has its core of forwards, and adding Bailey would only complicate that situation. The Pelicans do not have a great need for what Bailey provides. There are other positions of need that the Pelicans need to fill. Due to that, the Pelicans end up towards the bottom of this ranking.
#5: Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets sit fifth in this ranking as Bailey will not fit well with the team for one specific reason. That reason is the presence of Brandon Miller on the Charlotte roster. Miller and Bailey have similar physical builds and play styles to one another. There will be serious skill-set duplication if Bailey goes to Charlotte, which will make both players less effective. Charlotte simply does not need a player like Bailey and would be served better by a different player in the draft. For that reason, Charlotte sits at the bottom of this ranking.
