Jazz rookie Ace Bailey splits with agent Omar Cooper

Utah Jazz rookie Ace Bailey is parting ways with his manager, Omar Cooper, and is seeking new representation, multiple league sources said this week, a move that follows weeks of predraft controversy and a delayed arrival in Salt Lake City after the draft. Bailey, a 6 foot 9 forward from Rutgers who was selected fifth overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, has not yet named a new agent and sources said he and his camp have been conducting interviews to fill that role.

Reports from the predraft period said Bailey and his camp declined individual workouts with several top-five teams and expressed a preference to land with the Washington Wizards, who owned the sixth overall pick. Multiple people familiar with the situation said Cooper advised against Bailey working out for teams holding top-five selections and that Cooper has ties to the Wizards through his son, who recently signed a two-way contract there. Other accounts described the decision as driven more broadly by Bailey's own camp, which refused some teams' overtures. Those conflicting descriptions point to a coordinated strategy that ultimately failed to place Bailey where he preferred.

Utah selected Bailey at No. 5 despite the...