Cooper Flagg might be the No. 1 consensus pick to go to the Dallas Mavericks, but Ace Bailey is garnering a whole lot of attention when it comes to this week’s NBA Draft. He’s heading down the path Shedeur Sanders did with a bit of an ego trip during the pre-draft process. It cost his draft stock to drop off a little bit.
Nonetheless, the Philadelphia 76ers are still a possible landing spot for Bailey with the No. 3 pick. And with Jake Fischer's reporting of Quentin Grimes’ pending payday, the 76ers have even more reason to look at Bailey over other draft prospects.
From @JakeLFischer: “Multiple numbers-crunchers we consulted indicated that Grimes, after his breakout scoring for the Sixers in March, does appear to be heading for a payday that starts north of the $14.1 million midlevel exception.”
— Harrison Grimm (@Harrison_Grimm) June 21, 2025
Philadelphia is in an interesting situation where they have two overpaid stars that aren’t even healthy enough to have an impact. Paul George and Joel Embiid hurt this team and now they have to turn to the youth. Tyrese Maxey has risen as the future of this team, the next step is getting young, promising talent around him. That’s where Bailey comes in. With a backcourt of Grimes and Maxey, they don’t need anymore small guards/wings.
That’s why it doesn’t make sense for them to go after VJ Edgecombe and look at Bailey instead, whose 6-foot-8 frame and athletic and scoring ability makes him the better option for the 76ers.
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Philadelphia 76ers shouldn’t give up on Ace Bailey yet, it might bail them out of drastic rebuild
The 76ers could put a team on the court that has Maxey, Grimes, Bailey, George and Embiid; assuming everyone’s healthy. In a matter of a season, they could very well have a mix of youth and vets that could keep them competitive without going through a major rebuild.
Bailey fits in this mix because he’s a scorer, but won’t have to take 30 shots a game because he’s on a team like the Washington Wizards. With Maxey and Grimes, not only would he have help, but he’ll have less pressure to be the go-to guy. It would allow him to grow and eventually become a cornerstone piece for the franchise.
With a smaller wing, the 76ers put themselves in a bind of having too many similar players. With Bailey, they have some height. While Edgecombe is a great defender, which would go a long way, Bailey has the better upside.
Grimes' new deal will probably be the determining factor. If they do bring Grimes back, Bailey is the option. If they don’t re-sign Grimes, maybe Edgecombe is the better option. Either way, Bailey isn’t completely out of the question at No. 3 and the 76ers should be wise in making sure they make the right decision there.
Bailey hasn’t been helping himself through the draft process, but he might just be worth taking a gamble on, especially Philadelphia stays healthy. The Eastern conference will get turned upside down with both the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers losing their stars to Achilles injuries. This could be 76ers chance to steal a ring.