I've read that he will be a top 5-10 PG next season and that he'd start for quite a few teams right now. Rice and Barrett sound like they are going to be having his children at any point now. And he seems like the man crush of most of the posters on here. so why did he slide? i really hope he turns out to be as good as everyone thinks he is and can be.
Just the way the cards fell. Chicago took Rose, OKC took Westbrook (which hasn't been a mistake at all), the Bobs took Augistin (which surprised a lot of people). I'm probably forgetting some point guards, but those were the big names. I think a lot of people were taken by surprise by his performance in the SL.
I kind of read the Mikes as being torn on Bayless. For a long time, they were just putting on the knee pads and blowing Steve Blakes horn, until they realized the Blazers were winning without him. Then Mike Rice started to come around. At the end of the last game, if you listen to the conversation, it seemed like Mike B was still blowin Blakes horn, while Rice wasn't so sure it was so clear cut anymore.
I really think the Sonics/Thunder were going to take Bayless at #4 but changed their mind and took Westbrook because he was the hot pick an moving up. After that the only other team that needed Bayless that much was the Clippers and they liked both Bayless and E.Gorden and took Gorden. Every draft it seems someone slides and many times if you look the player sliding is as good or better then the players drafted ahead of him. Bayless should have been the 4th player taken in this draft and IMO will be at least the 4th best player out of this draft and probably higher in a couple years. The only player I like better then Bayless in this draft is Rose. I also think Mayo will have a lot of good stats even though I don't like his game and will be considered as good or better then Bayless.
Another reason, I think, was the general underperformance of a supposedly stacked Arizona team. Although, apparently, similar reasoning didn't scupper Eric Gordon's chances. Perhaps he was just overrated by the various draftnicks. Perhaps he didn't "fall" at all.
Another question is, did he even work out for any of those teams? I have a feeling it was a combination of: 1. Not working out for any of those teams. 2. Teams drafting on need. 3. After the initial slide, teams opting for players they had scouted and felt comfortable with.
1. Chicago - Rose: No brainer 2. Miami - Beasley: No brainer 3. Minnesota (Memphis) - Mayo: No brainer 4. OKC - Westbrook: Stock rose a lot 5. Minnesota - Love: McHale loves him 6. New York - Gallinari: Could've been a good fit for Jerryd, but there's the D'Antoni connection 7. Clippers - Gordon: Jerryd could've gone here, but Gordon's about equal value and similar type players 8. Milwaukee - Alexander: Bucks have Ridnour/Redd/Sessions. Alexander's stock rose high before the draft as well. 9. Charlotte - Augustin: Another guy whose stock soared, and talks of the Blazers being highly interested in him were there too, and MJ bit. He's a good player though 10. New Jersey - Lopez: They have Harris, and needed a big. 11. Indiana (Portland) - Bayless Or at least that's how I see it.
Bayless slid because this was a guard heavy draft and people were concerned by his short-wingspan. Rose, OJ, Westbrook, DJ, Gordon and him were also in the draft. In most drafts he would have gone higher - but it was just a guard heavy draft and there were some "no miss" bigs in the draft as well (Lopez, Beas and K-Love) - so overall - it made sense that some of them would slide. The ones you have to wonder about - long term are Alexander and the NY-kid. These guys might have over-reached. Time will tell.
Because people got caught up in the fact that he might not be a "true point guard," whatever the fuck that even means. As a result, people called him a pure SG and so his poor wingspan and "only" being 6'3" would hurt him defensively.
So you're saying that their actual decision procedure was not "we like Westbrook better because we think he's more of a point guard" but "all the COOL kids say THIS guy's great, so screw all our draft plans, he MUST be the one!"? Seriously? And it turns out that all of those guards taken before Bayless (Mayo, Westbrook, Gordon, Augustin) actually do appear to be better players than him. Amazingly enough, it looks like the draft went right in this instance.
My first thought at the time was that Jordan was taking him because Pritchard wanted him, and was planning to try to squeeze the Blazers for assets. But more and more it looks like Larry Brown nagged Jordan to take him because of the importance Brown places in cerebral true point guards. And, apart from injuries, you can't argue with his performance.
And man did Indiana have a crappy draft. Rush and Hibbert, both with serious experience in college, are barely contributing.
Cause that's NOT what happened with Joe Alexander and Milwaukee? Think the Bucks would re-do their draft if they had the chance? Hmmm?
Rush looked good early in the season. I still think he'll turn out to be a solid player for them, but they have so many small forwards.
Here's some help for you: 1. It doesn't just mean someone too short to play any other position. 2. Allen Iverson is not a true point guard. Nate Robinson is not a true point guard. 3. Players like playing with true point guards because they can actually deliver the ball to other players in scoring positions, and actually will do so. 3. Steve Nash is. Jason Kidd is. Chris Paul is (so you can score as well so long as you get the passing bit).
So by your rationale, there are like three or four "true point guards" in the league and the rest are all just shooting guards?
