Salt Lake City, Utah: Jazz Decline Isaiah Collier Option and Pick Up Ace Bailey Option

The Utah Jazz made opposite contract calls on two young players on Monday, November 2. Utah exercised its third year team option on forward Ace Bailey and declined its fourth year team option on point guard Isaiah Collier, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported. Hoops Rumors, Sports Illustrated and RotoWire all carried the decisions on Monday.

Bailey stays under contract

Bailey, a 6 foot 9 small forward, was the fifth overall pick in last year's draft. Picking up his option was straightforward, Hoops Rumors said: he will now earn a little under $10 million in the 2027-28 season. As a rookie last season, Bailey averaged 13.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.7 blocks in 27.6 minutes a game across 72 appearances, with 61 starts, Hoops Rumors reported. Through six games this season he has averaged 13.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 blocks in 30.8 minutes a game, and he has started five of his six appearances while Jusuf Nurkic and Jaren Jackson Jr. have been out in the frontcourt. Utah has until November 1, 2027 to decide whether to exercise Bailey's fourth year option.

Collier heads toward free agency

Collier, a 6 foot 4 point guard, was the 29th pick in the 2024 draft. His declined option was worth $4.99 million for the 2027-28 season, RotoWire reported. Because Utah declined it, Collier is headed to unrestricted free agency next summer, and whichever team he finishes the 2026-27 season with cannot offer him a starting salary above the declined option amount, Hoops Rumors said. Across his career, Collier has averaged 9.9 points, 6.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals, according to the figures in Scotto's report.

The call surprised many around the league, and Sports Illustrated argued the Jazz made a mistake. Collier averaged 11.7 points, 7.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 25.7 minutes a game across 59 games last season, and he shot 49.5 percent from the field, including 54.9 percent on two point tries, Hoops Rumors reported. His limits are also on the record: he has made 69 of 277 three point tries in his career, 24.9 percent, and 69.6 percent of his free throws, and the Jazz were far worse with him on the court last season, minus 13.2 points per 100 possessions against minus 4.8 when he sat, according to the on and off figures cited by Hoops Rumors. Utah is 1 and 5 to start this season, and those numbers come from a small six game sample.

Shreyas Laddha of The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Collier has taken the news well, and that the Jazz will keep evaluating the former USC guard through his third season in the league. In Salt Lake City, the decision reads as a bet on Bailey's size and scoring, and as a clear signal that Collier's third year is now an audition, for Utah and for every other team watching.