Is that the Royal We? He could have all of those things and suck at basketball. He doesn't, but he isn't great at some aspects that I don't think you can teach. No - I never said he was projected as a star for a long time. I said he WAS a star - in high school. You know, like Sebastian Telfair? Difference was, Telfair won city championships IN NEW YORK. Did Bayless win in Arizona? That's silly. By that reasoning we should have been wetting ourselves over Josh McRoberts. Perhaps there's a reason he dropped? You know, like DeAndre Jordan? What was it you said about Jordan before the draft, Ed? Can you find the quote? You know, now I come to think of it, he's young and athletic too... [snip] So... where's Rudy in all this? If Bayless could be starting, then couldn't someone taller, with better all-round basketball skills be doing the same? Bayless could be a good Vinnie Johnson clone (with Roy and Rudy as Thomas and Dumars) but I'm not sure he'd be happy with that (and isn't Outlaw our designated high-volume shooter off the bench?), and I can think of players I'd like to have more, and I'd still worry about his attitude. Perhaps the one area of strength for him that is a weakness for us is his defense at the guard position. But he's sort of a pint-sized poor man's Ron Artest: you pay for the defense with selfish offense and a prickly personality. I'll be happy to be proved wrong, but as things stand, I'd trade him for Rajon Rondo in a nanosecond (were there any chance in hell that Boston would go for that) and throw in Steve Blake as a bonus.
I think it's hilarious how people have started to say Jerryd has a bad attitude, show me an example of bad behavior or of being a poor teammate. Is it his steely demeanor that is putting you off? And how exactly is 6-3 pint sized for a point guard? Jerryd may end up being all of the things you say he is, but let's at least see what the kid can do on the court before we say what he is or isn't.
bad comparisons. mcroberts was a guy who dropped long before the draft. deandre jordan had dropped to a late teens or early 20s pick at best by the time the draft rolled around. i assume ed o meant to include that he actually was a very good basketball player at arizona along with all those other things. which is another thing that would seperate him from deandre jordan and mcroberts(specifically jordan who was having trouble even getting of the bench for a&m).
It's the same "we" you used. I was using it ironically, since I don't think you speak for very many on this board. Neither do I, but I don't tend to tell "us" what "we" think. You didn't? Actually, I think it's a fair reading of this: "Bayless has been projected as a star for a long time." Is it not? First of all, I am not sure that he has better basketball skills. He doesn't get to the free throw line, for example, and (more importantly) I don't see much evidence that he can guard point guards. In what world is Outlaw still going to be the instant offense on the bench when Bayless is a Vinnie Johnson clone? Bayless is nineteen. He's a year or two or four away from being what he will be. Outlaw might be here years from now, but I don't think we need to get rid of recent lottery picks on that possibility. Where is this coming from? A "prickly personality"? A Ron Artest-like attitude? What are you talking about? I don't know that I would or not. The Celtics wouldn't, so I don't really care that we cannot get the starting PG on the current world champs' team for a low lottery pick. And I certainly don't consider it any sort of indictment on Bayless. Ed O.