http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=10813 Somewhat interesting article about Bayless' time behind the scenes. Apparently Blake has taken to helping the youngin' out.
I hope he does. Bayless seems like the kind of guy that will listen and learn. He's not playing his "Summer League style" when he's in games. He spends more time passing it away. I don't know if that's him taking baby steps or just trying to be unselfish. Hopefully, in the long run he pans out as a point.
I am really excited to see what Bayless can do when his time comes. I still think he has a more than decent chance to be our PG when the team starts contending. It's as if he was born to play next to Roy. And again, a tip of the hat to both Blake (for the help he is giving Bayless), Sergio (for trying to look for him when he is in the game) and Bayless himself (for working hard).
Bayless is going to be tremendous. It says a lot about Blake that he's helping to groom a guy that will likely result in him being traded. Roy loves to have the ball, so he can act as our de facto PG. Bayless loves to move without it, which makes him our de facto SG. On defense the two switch. Bayless plays great D and is a physical presence for his position. In a couple of years, Bayless will be starting for this team and will play a huge role in our success.
I'm impressed with Jerryd's patience. His time will come. As long as he continues to watch and learn it will make him a better player in the long run. He has the talent, but he needs to learn how to play the game at the NBA level. He'll get there, and when he does, he'll be an excellent player. BNM
Just to show you how deep we are, I can think of only a handful of teams where a guy as talented as Jerryd wouldn't even sniff the court. Damn. It's almost unfair.
I was mildly worried about Bayless getting resentful about being a high pick who never got to see the floor. But I think any player can reconcile himself to one season nailed to the bench. By next season, I expect Bayless to at least be the primary reserve at PG, if not the starter.
Bayless is a victim of numbers. Nate is not known for playing rookies, but already has three in the regular rotation - two starters and our number one scoring option off the bench. With this team as deep as it is, there simply aren't enough minutes to get a 4th rookie anything but garbage time minutes right now. The good thing is Bayless seems to be taking it in stride and not pouting about it. He's using his time with the team to watch and learn and probably figures it's better to do that with the Blazers rather than in Boise. BNM
Why does everyone say this, and seem to think it is true? His first year, Desmond Mason was a rookie, got 20 minutes a night, played in 78 games, started 14. Second year, Vlad Radmanovic got 20 a night, 61 games, 16 starts, and Earl Watson got 15 minutes a night in 64 games. Third year, Reggie Evans got 20 minutes a night, started 60 of his 67 games played. Fourth year, Luke Ridnour got 16 minutes a night, played 69 games, started in 6. Fifth year, Nick Collison played 17 minutes a night. started 4 games, played all 82. First year in Portland, both Martell and Jack played in over 60 games, and over 17 minutes a night. Following year brandon started from opening night, LMA got over 20 mpg, and Sergio was even getting 13. Most of the teams he coached had veterans on them, yet he has consistently had rookies in his rotations EVERY year, yet this fallacy about him not playing or liking toplay rookies has continued, and then just gets repeated by people not bothering to see if it is actually true.
It may be a fallacy, but in Nate's case I think it's fair to say that he doesn't typically like to lean heavily on rookies for big production, unless the roster has been so devoid of talent that he was forced to play someone (Martell and Jack), or they were so special that there was no way to keep them off the court (Roy and Rudy). Even Greg is getting pretty light numbers for a number one draft pick. Jerryd's just in the unenviable position of having 4 guys on the depth chart ahead of him that are playing very very well. I think it's going to come to a point where he's doing well enough in practice that he starts to impress upon Nate, Dean, Monty and KP that he's ready for prime time. I do think this year (or whatever it ends up being) on the bench is going to do wonders for him, getting coached up by Monty, Dean and Nate and even Blake without having to deal with the pressure of live game situations, especially considering how he only had one season under an interim coach at Arizona instead of Lute Olsen.
Well, nobody wants to lean heavily on rookies unless their roster is devoid of talent, or those rookies are special. But no other coach gets labeled as not liking to play rookies. His track record has shown that he has had a rookie playing a decent amount of minutes every year he has been a coach. I would hardly call Vlad Radmanovic, Earl Watson, Reggie Evans, or Desmond Mason special players, they were on veteran teams, and they got time. Could haev easily sat the bench behind veterans if it was true about Nate.
And I'm not trying at all to argue that Jerry isn't doing enough to get minutes. I agree he is in a tough position numbers wise, he is the odd man out, and he needs to continue to work, etc. So please don't take it that I am thinking he isn't trying or working hard enough. My post was strictly to the thought of him not wanting to play rookies. That isn't the case.
I'm curious--who do you see us moving? If we move Blake, I have a hard time imagining Fernandez doesn't slide into that starting spot. You could make a pretty good argument that Sergio is already better than Blake right now, and he took a couple of years to develop. Personally, I see a career path much like Sergio's. Sergio looked like a lotto pick in his first season, but couldn't get more than third stringer minutes in spite of a relatively crappy PG rotation. The flaws in his game (shooting and defense) were just too much to tolerate. The second year Sergio seemed to regress, and by the end of it he looked like he'd be out of the league. Now he's pushing for the starting job. Similarly, Bayless seems to have a couple of pretty big flaws. He turns the ball over a lot, and he's not really that good at running an offense. Those aren't flaws that can be fixed in a half season. They're the kind of problems that will probably take a season or two of riding the bench before a conservative coach like Nate sees that they are reasonably fixed. I know that Roy plays de facto point guard a lot, but you still need a PG who can run an offense. Not necessarily deliver the dime (Blake isn't that great of a distributor), but just manage the flow of the game more. And the turnovers--ugh--most of them are really ugly and not a result of taking risks. Just carelessness or an inability to handle NBA quality defenses. Those turnovers are definitely going to be a hurdle for him as long as we are a playoff team. Bayless has undeniable talent and athleticism. But then Sergio had undeniable court vision. We're just too stocked and now entering playoff mode for a coach like McMillan to tolerate major flaws in a starting point guard.
You didn't ask me, but I think Jerryd Bayless will replace Blake as the starter and Sergio will continue to be the energy PG off the bench. Either we trade Blake or he moves to third string.
If he's a smart guy and wants to be with a winner (I think he is), he has to know that with the players we have that he has a chance in a few yrs to be starting PG and contend for championships for a decade - where else could he find that opportunity? And he should be able to also figure out his skills are almost a perfect fit with Roy if he can master what is necessary for a "blazer PG".
That would have been my answer too. The other option is that another team covets Rodriguez and Pritchard packages him as part of the Big Consolidation Trade (that may or may not be coming) and Bayless ends up the starter by next season and Blake functions as his capable backup.
