I saw nothing new from him last night. First play he took his eyes off his man and got burned badly. His defense is spoken of, but rarely seen. It's Jarrett Jack all over again. I certainly wouldn't sacrifice any of our other guards minutes for him right now. He is an aggressive, lightning fast SG. But we've got Roy and Rudy there, both far better players. No resemblance to a PG exists with this kid so why torture both him and yourselves by continuing to labor under this childishly-stubborn delusion? If he is to play and help us rather than hurt us, it will have to come with a small lineup with Roy or Rudy at SF or sitting. Those opportunities will be rare. He must wait a season or 2, or be traded. I vote for waiting.
Wow, I can't believe Maris is voting against giving him PT... hmm, wonder why. So far, I think Bayless is very capable of handling the PG position for this team, and I think he would do a great job with Roy and even Rudy. It would give Rudy more of a chance to play on ball as well, instead of just using him as a shooter on offense (he is so much more than that). I havent seen any evidence from preseason and the reg. season that would point to the fact that he is incapable of handling the PG position. I remember a preaseason game where he had 15, 7 and 7. Last night, he got Rudy the ball right where he needed of a curl, got Trav the ball right where he needed for a wide open free throw line shot, and then tried to get the ball to Rudy for an alley oop that he overshot, but that will come w/ timing. Since summer league, I have not seen him hog the ball at all. I've seen him actually be TOO passive at times. Last night, and in the preseason, I think he showed a great mix of knowing when to pass it off and whne to get into the paint and then pass for open shots (like he does all the time, which is what we need), and then i've seen him get open shots on his own, and then drive and finish or get to the line. He has been very good. He isn't better than Sergio or Blake for this team right now, though. But i'm for getting him a couple more minutes, since he looks to be just what we need. His game and his mentality. But that is the problem. He is the 11th man, and the 12th once Martell gets back. You take Frye out of the rotation and that leaves him at 11. An 11th man, I don't care for what team, simply doesn't get PT. That is something that needs to be worked out, or JB will just need to wait his turn (injury or probably next year).
Oh yeah? Did you get your in-depth knowledge from watching all the practices and sitting in on team meetings? How about you admit you have no idea, and no way of knowing if Bayless is ready or not. D.J. Augustin is tearing it up as a rookie PG and Bayless is a better prospect with a much better supporting cast. Bayless needs playing time if for nothing else then to get his attitude on the floor. Right now there is a very PUSSY-like team attitude, no toughness mental or physical, Bayless brings that.
I don't know what game you were watching but your are simply incorrect. He may be the perfect guy to team with Roy and Rudy, open your eyes dude.
You know, for the longest time, I've questioned what we needed next to Roy. Everyone has been getting on how good Blake has played this year, and you know, I agree, but Blake (this year at least) has been a SG. Bayless's role on the team would be exactly the same as Blake's right now. Bring it up the court, play good defense, occasionally pass it, defer to Roy, hit the open 3s. The only differences are that Bayless can drive the ball if he needs to force a shot, whereas Blake usually just forces up a bad jumper, and Bayless has way more potential. We are not going to win a championship this year anyways, so why not develop our future point guard? It makes the perfect sense to me.
I was just going to post almost the same thing but you said it better then I could. Bayless is going to be perfect next to Roy and Rudy IMO. I'm not saying start him right now. I'm just asking for some minutes to get him the experience he needs. I also like Blake and Sergio but I don't think either will be as good a PG for this team for the long run. Sergio might be a real good PG for a fast break team like the old Pho or a good backup to go with our 2nd unit.
As a card carrying member of the Bayless fan club can I ask that we replace this Free **** (a slogan I associate with the Darkos and Sergios of the worlds - they could be fine role players - but that's where they will end, at best) - with a "Release Bay-Rex"? You free people that can't do it themselves. You release those you keep on a leash because you do not want them to attack the opposition before it is most beneficial.
Good point. The motion has been put forward. As president I second the motion. The motion has been seconded and put to vote. All in favor?
I liked what I saw out of Bayless last night... but I REALLY like what I saw from this team the first 20 games of the season. There's simply no reason to make a massive change on this team unless it's to reintegrate Webster. Bayless is a young guy in the first year of his rookie deal. There's no rush. Allowing him to sit and learn as the team continues to win is the perfect scenario for Blazers fans, IMO. Ed O.
I vote against. calling him Rex is insulting. I was pleased to see how Bayless played- btw he did pass out on at least one drive I remember- but I'm becoming more convinced that Sergio is more talented playmaker of the three. Simply put, he makes more easy baskets.
That's gold Jerry! Gold!! I sorta doubt he would take to the name, but I love it if that's any consolation. I think most would agree that Bayless' game resembles more Blake than Sergio. So, is redundancy good in this case, where we have similar skill sets coming in and out for each other? Or are we better served having two different players to choose from to run point? I think I'm in the latter camp, but I can see arguments for either.
Redundancy isn't a big problem. "Change of pace" is interesting, but not that convincingly a big deal. The bigger issues, IMO, are: 1. Blake is basically a run-of-the-mill backup point guard. His ilk can generally be found fairly easily for trade or on the market for part of a team's MLE. Rodriguez has the rarer talent and thus may be the more intriguing trade asset, if another team looks at Rodriguez and dreams of a potential Jose Calderon. 2. Blake is a solid, mistake-free point guard who fits well as a backup. With scoring threats like Fernandez and Outlaw off the bench, he's capable of getting it to them and getting out of the way, leading to a more stable second unit. Rodriguez is chaotic...if we anticipate having a starting unit superior to everyone else's, we should value a second unit who brings stable certainty of preserving leads, rather than a tempermental one that can as easily build a lead or lose a lead. Let the starters win the game and the second unit keep things even while the starters are resting. 3. Blake can't really complain about being a backup. Unless he's delusional, he knows he isn't likely to start for an elite team. Rodriguez seems more likely to think of himself as a potentially elite starter, because at times he looks like one. Blake has settled into mediocrity and is more likely to be satisfied coming off the bench in subsquent years. All these factors make me think that Rodriguez is probably the best trade bait. I like the idea of a change-of-pace point guard, but the above factors are more compelling to me.
I think Blake is a better player than Sergio, especially next to Roy - but Sergio has chemistry with Rudy and he is a chance of pace kind of PG. While I am certainly not one of the Sergio kool-aid drinkers - he is playing much better this year than before, especially at this stage of the year and will probably only get better - where I am not certain we will see much more out of Blake when all is said and done. As always - IKPWT.
I don't agree at all, all three of them are very different players. Blake - doesn't take many risks, shoots the 3 well. "Runs" the offense, meaning can give the ball to the guy in the post. He's not very good at creating buckets for himself or others. Sergio plays the pick and roll, he can penetrate and kick it out, but can't finish. He can create for others, but not really himself. Bayless drives and gets to the line. He can create for himself, not sure yet if he can create for others. Blake's offensive game fits in better with the starters. As for backup PG, until we know more about how Bayless' game translates from the summer league to the NBA, as well as who's going to be in the 2nd unit (ie once the dust settles from any possible RLEC, Outlaw, Webster, Frye trades), it's hard to tell. I do love Bayless' lateral quickness and ability to get to the FT line though. IMO in the longterm, that sets him apart from Blake and Sergio.
Bayless reminds me of a mix between Clyde Drexler and Dwayne Wade. Right now Bayless may not be ready to run the point as well as Nate would like, but he's certainly capable of driving to the hoop and getting to the line. And that is exactly what this team needs. Since Nate can't seem to teach the euro's to do anything but shoot threes, the team needs Bayless to come in and show them how to play ball in America.
Bayless plays with a swagger and a 'don't fuck with me' attitude. I bet he'll average a fight per season. I like that kind of fire in a player.
