Former Sixers forward confused by prospect Ace Bailey's draft process
Rutgers star Ace Bailey figures to be a high draft pick in the 2025 NBA draft on June 25 as he is one of the top prospects after Duke phenom Cooper Flagg and Rutgers teammate Dylan Harper. With that logic, he should be selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 3 pick, but it isn't a foregone conclusion.
Bailey, named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2024-25, had a workout scheduled with the Sixers, but he canceled at the last minute. Philadelphia could still select Bailey at No. 3 as a lack of workout has not deterred them before--Tyrese Maxey in 2020 and Jared McCain in 2024--but it is strange that Bailey has not only not worked out for the Sixers, but he hasn't worked out for anybody.
Former Philadelphia forward Marcus Morris Sr. admitted some confusion over Bailey's draft process:
If I'm Ace Bailey, I'm working out. I'm like 'I'm a basketball player. This is what I do'… I want to answer those questions for myself. I want to get in front of people. Even if they don't draft me, or if you don't draft me to this team, you still have a long career. You can still end up back there… You've gotta think about the long-term game. This is one year. This is the draft. You can't tell somebody 'I'm not trying to workout'. These are all NBA teams, and that's for your future. You're probably going to be doing the workout by yourself. How easy can that be? Knock down some Js, work to my strengths, and I can speak on my own behalf, so in my opinion, Ace Bailey is a little bit over the top. I can't say that it's him. It might be his representation.
The Sixers still have some due diligence to do on a lot of these prospects with the draft still five days away, but it's obvious that Bailey has a lot of talent regardless of his lack of a workout with any team. That hasn't deterred the Sixers before, so one has to wonder if history will repeat itself in this situation.
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