The Utah Jazz are heading into the 2026-27 season with a roster full of young players and plenty of room for someone to take a real step forward. The franchise has spent the last four years chasing lottery position more than wins, but this group looks built to start pushing for something more. And while the Jazz could be one of the NBA’s breakout teams overall, the player most likely to break out individually might already be sitting at the top of the list.
That player is Ace Bailey.
Bailey, the Jazz’s top-five pick in last year’s draft, has already given enough hints to make this a sensible bet. He just turned 20 and has played fewer than 75 regular-season games, so there’s still plenty of development ahead. Even so, his rookie season pointed in the right direction once he started getting more consistent run.
After the All-Star break, Bailey averaged 18.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 43.3% from the field and 35.0% from three. Those numbers don’t just show promise - they suggest a player who started figuring things out as the season wore on. That late-season momentum gives him a real chance to carry that progress into 2026-27.
Bailey also said at Jazz media day that he’s added 10 to 12 pounds since his rookie season and believes he may have grown a little taller than his listed 6-foot-9. That kind of added size can matter on both ends, helping him hold up better defensively while also making him tougher to deal with as a scorer.
Ace Bailey said he’s put on 10-12 pounds this summer and also thinks he got a little taller.Added he’s feeling 100 percent after dealing with back spasms in summer league.#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/aOo6IBUiR5
Of course, Bailey won’t have the lane to himself. Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., Keyonte George, and even No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson all have paths to being heavily involved. That means Bailey will have to earn his chances and make the most of them.
Still, if he can help Utah improve after three straight seasons near the bottom of the league defensively, while also showing more aggression and efficiency as a scorer, the leap could be obvious. Among the Jazz’s young core, Bailey looks like the best candidate to turn potential into a true breakout season.
In Other News...
Blazers Make Another Camp Cut As Their Next Roster Plan Emerges
As training camps start to trim down across the league, Jaelen House is now among the latest names to hit the waiver wire after Utah moved on from the guard on a non-guaranteed deal with Exhibit 10 language. The transaction puts his next step into the usual late-camp holding pattern for fringe roster hopefuls, where a short stay with the G League affiliate can still matter a great deal for development and organizational familiarity.
Houses departure came as part of a broader wave of camp cuts around the NBA, with the Chicago Bulls waiving Peter Suder and the Portland Trail Blazers parting with Hyunjung Lee. For Utah, the move fits the kind of roster housekeeping that often follows the first serious preseason evaluations, and it leaves the Jazz with another young player whose immediate future will likely hinge on how teams and affiliates map out the next phase of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Jazz Opening Night Lineup Debate Is Already Taking Shape
The Jazz are already at the point in the calendar where an opening-night lineup debate feels less like speculation and more like an actual roster exercise. Early projections point to a group built around Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson in the backcourt, with Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson anchoring the frontcourt and Jusuf Nurkic factoring into the center picture as Utah sorts out how its pieces fit after a busy offseason.
What makes the conversation interesting is how much of it still depends on roles rather than raw talent. Recent performance, contract status and the changes from the summer all shape the discussion, but there is still room for the rotation to shift before the 2026-27 season tips off. For a team trying to settle on both immediate structure and long-term direction, the biggest question may not be who belongs in the starting five, but which version of the Jazz the staff wants to see first. [Read more 🡒]
Brice Sensabaugh Faces A Prove It Season With Money At Stake
Jamal Sheads new three-year, $24 million extension in Toronto is the sort of deal that makes front offices everywhere take notice, and it gives the Jazz a fresh point of reference as they think ahead with Brice Sensabaugh. For Utah, the comparison is less about the names involved than the larger question sitting in front of Sensabaugh this season: how much his offensive promise translates when the games matter and the role around him keeps shifting.
Sensabaugh has flashed real scoring ability, but the steady production and team success that tend to raise a players value have not come easily yet. With the Jazzs roster changing and his place in the rotation still taking shape, this year feels like a prove-it stretch for a young player whose next contract could be shaped as much by fit and consistency as by pure talent. [Read more 🡒]