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Ace Bailey was drafted into the NBA with the No. 5 overall pick by the Utah Jazz. However, the former Rutgers star made it abundantly clear during the pre-draft process that he did not want to play for Utah.
The team obviously didn’t care and picked him anyway, which has created a very unusual dynamic.
Bailey was a consensus five-star prospect in the college basketball recruiting Class of 2024. He ultimately chose to play for Rutgers over Ohio State, Kentucky, Kansas, Texas and Oregon, among others. The 6-foot-10 small forward averaged 17.6 points on 46% shooting, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game during his lone season with the Scarlet Knights. Although his team failed to make the NCAA Tournament, he and Dylan Harper both went in the top-five of the NBA Draft.
Here is where things get messy.
Ace Bailey refused to work out with the Jazz prior to the NBA Draft because he didn’t want to play there. Thus, his face was one of disappointment when Utah selected him at No. 5. Things were so bad that he initially refused to join the team as scheduled over the weekend.
However, both sides were able to come to an understanding so Bailey reported to his new home on Friday. Two notable people were with him upon arrival to Salt Lake City. Photographed next to Avery Bradley on the far right is Omar Cooper Sr. and his son, Omar Cooper Jr.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 28, 2025
Omar Cooper Sr. serves as Ace Bailey’s agent. He started his own sports agency back in 2020 after he founded one of the top teams in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. The following video from his official Instagram page went extremely viral on social media amid all of the initial chaos involving his most high-profile client. Make of it what you will.
Allegedly, it was Cooper Sr. who encouraged Bailey to avoid Utah and suggested the initial holdout after the draft. He also demanded (not insignificant) monetary payment for any interviews involving Bailey at Rutgers, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.
And now his son is an assistant coach with the Jazz…
Omar Cooper Jr., the son of Ace Bailey’s agent, was in the gym with the players on Wednesday. Utah will allow him to be a guest coach for the organization during Summer League.
Cooper Jr. played college basketball at McNeese State last season. Will Wade offered him a graduate assistant role to begin his coaching career after a swollen appendix cut his senior season short. Now he is shadowing Utah Jazz coaches in Salt Lake City.
Did Omar Cooper Sr. arrange this position for his son as part of the negotiations involving Ace Bailey? Neither he nor the team have said. We may not ever get the answer to that question.
Either way, this latest decision for the Jazz to add Cooper Jr. is very nepotistic. Bailey might be better off without this family in his life. He will have to find that out for himself while his agent’s son sits on the bench next to him during Summer League.