http://ripcityproject.com/2010/05/12/summer-reading-jerryd-bayless/?utm_source=bleacherreport.com [video=youtube;zqfRC9GEyYE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfRC9GEyYE&feature=player_embedded[/video]
5. Jerryd needs to play alongside Petteri Koponen. It was because of PK that he had that splashy summer league. Koponen is about the same size as Rudy, only a better defender and an actual PG. I don't know about other people, but the more Jerryd gets to play, the more obvious it is that he just isn't a PG. Who was it who said, on watching him in the playoffs, "that guy is the most selfish player I've ever seen"? I read it somewhere.
It's painful how many of those KJ highlights are against the Blazers. Not that painful, though - didn't the Drexler/Porter Blazers always beat the Suns? Two things I remember most about KJ: 1. He had an absolutely unstoppable stop-and-pop shot (that he used almost all the time - that highlight film is completely unrepresentative. I think it contains all the dunks he ever did in his entire career.) 2. He looked like an angry gerbil.
It was from a Dwight Jaynes article. Edit: My mistake. Nik is correct below, I knew it was DJ though.
Dwight Jaynes said it on the MSP referring to an unnamed national writer that he knows. As for your main point, that he needs to play alongside PK, I don't know, but you are right that he is not a guy you turn over the reins to your offense and expect him to set people up and make his teammates necessarily better ... I'm pretty certain that if he sticks with this team it's going to be as a reserve who can come in and change the tempo and inject a spark into the team, and that's only if his shooting percentages rise another 5% minimum from the floor and at least another 7% from three point range; 41/31% just isn't going to cut it for a guy who doesn't know how to initiate offense for a team.
Jerryd's play in the playoffs got me excited about him again, and we know he's a hard worker and is going to keep improving. After averaging 13.5pts/4asts in the playoffs, I'm excited to see what he can do next year. Everyone's talking about grabbing a guy out of the draft, but forget Jerryd would have only been a junior in college this year and would be crushing everyone. He can average 20pts/G in this league.
OK this is the thing I'm talking about people when I've suggested the team should at least explore the idea of trading Bayless now while he has some value. I completely agree that as the featured guy (or a primary player) in an offense, Jerryd very well could score 20 points per game ... but does anybody honestly expect him to do that on this team? Does this team desperately need a slashing, undersized 2 guard with questionable court vision and, a shaky outside shot? With Brandon being at his best initiating offense at least part of the time in pick and roll situations and LaMarcus, Greg and Batum probably needing a steady diet of shots and integration into the offense from here on out, I think this team probably needs a true distributor to be Miller's backup and eventual replacement, with a minimum of a good outside shot or really good perimeter defense and (if you could get both so much the better). Maybe Jerryd makes a big leap in production, efficiency and court awareness this coming season, but really I think it's far more likely that he continues to hone what he's best at (getting to the line and attacking the hoop) and only slightly improves his shooting percentages and ability to initiate the offense -- him bucking the odds and becoming the second coming of Chauncey Billups would be the exception, not the rule. This isn't a matter of trading him at all costs, but he should be available if he can help net the team a point who can spread the floor with his shot, who understands how to set a team up and can defend at a reasonably high level; the prototype would be a point like Hinrich, Derrick Fisher (in his prime), or even a young guy like Jrue Holliday. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and Petteri can be that guy for this team and there won't be any need to trade Bayless, everything works out and in a couple of years you get a highly productive three guard rotation of Roy, Petko and Bayless?
It was me, after his first game in his first Summer League. Everyone said how great he was, getting 80 ppg, and I said he was a selfish bastard ruining all his teammates' chances to look good, like Petteri's not being able to dribble and playmake.
No, don't think Jerryd will ever be a 20 ppg guy with this group. I guess, I'm looking for a more reasonable 15 and 7 or something along thos lines. I do however think he's going to be a mainstay on this roster for one reason , and one reason alone. He's the only player that can get to the hoop whenever he wants. Brandon and Andre like to get to the rim, but as we saw all last season, defenses can adjust to stop that. Jerryds quickness and tenacity makes him an almost impossible guard, especially when he develops that consitant 15 footer. With his ability to penetrate, Bayless should make everyone on the floor with him better, especially Oden. Now will that ever happen? I sure hope so!
For one thing he can't get to the hoop whenever he wants ... well maybe he can get there, but team's have completely adjusted and as we saw all too often last year they'd shadow him from the weakside and cap him from behind when he got there, secondly you say "when" he develops a fifteen footer, how about "if?" Lastly, Jerryd doesn't look for people very often when he drives to the hoop, which doesn't exactly make Greg or anybody else better ... well it might help pad Greg's offensive rebounding percentage I guess. My only point is that when a team asks a player to completely retool their game and do something they aren't very good at instinctively, instead of trying to maximize a player's strengths it usually blows up in their faces. Maybe if a high school or AAU coach had gotten a hold of him earlier and allowed him the opportunity to experiment in live game situations where the stakes weren't so high and the margin of error so slim, like they are now, then his chances of becoming a true point guard would be a lot higher. My advice is to just embrace what he is, and hopefully the team does that too and carves out a role for him on this roster that let's Jerryd be Jerryd ... If they can't then I hope they move him while he has some value.
PK is over 2" shorter then Rudy with a standing reach of 4.5" less. If paired with Bayless in the backcourt both would be undersized covering most 2Gs. Nonetheless, too bad he sustained a broken foot as his lateral quickness/ability to stay with NBA PGs on D is what I've gleaned as his biggest issue, but hopefully he's healed up by training camp. Certainly his outside threat has got to be an attractive quality to Blazer management which has made repeated mention of wanting more of that on the roster. to the OP link... I just want JB to improve his jumper. If that continues to trend up it will open up more PT for him STOMP
I can't remember where I read it, but supposedly Petko has grown a little bit. He's something like 6'5" now ... who knows what his wingspan and standing reach are now however. that said I didn't get the impression from recent articles and reports that Petteri was intending to come over this year (especially with the busted wheel).
Hm. DraftExpress is sending out conflicting messages then: Koponen is 6'5" and 194lbs Rudy is 6'6" and 172lbs
I recall that being Barrett during PK's 2nd Blazer camp. It seems that half the current roster is supposed to have grown post 18 years old. While of course I'd be all for PK to have shot up an inch or two, stats say late growth is very unlikely and those that do post 18 y/old usually don't experience such a significant spurt. Lets keep an eye out for him standing next to other Blazers during camp My link has him just over Jerryd's height, a couple inch spurt would have him Rudy's size STOMP
It sounds like you're speaking in definites about a player that is what 22 years old? Getting to the hoop whenever he wants doesn't necessarily entail scoring whenever he wants. The first rule of offense is to beat your man and force the defense to help out. Bayless DOES get to the rim whenever he wants, now it's up to Jerryd to adjust his game and look for his post players that will be open when the defense rotates off of them (hence why Oden should be better when they're on the court together). And, why should we believe that Bayless won't develop his 15 foot jump shot? By all means, he seems like a young man intent on making a name in the league. Do you think he doesn't have the drive or the ability to work on his mid range game over the summer? Again, he's young and developing. I'll continue to go back to Tony Parker when he came into the league as a YOUNG player. Like Bayless, got to the hoop at will but couldn't buy an outside shot. He's developed over the years into a really dependable outside shooter and I see no reason that Bayless won't follow the same path.
I think down the road he can definitely play the "poor man's Tony Parker" role on this team. Especially when we have the "rich man's Manu Ginobili" (Roy) in the other guard position, and assuming Oden can play the "Sherman tank's Tim Duncan" role, with Batum in the "Spiderman's Bruce Bowen" role, and Aldridge as the "rich man's wealthier best friend's even wealthier uncle who made a killing getting bailed out by the Federal Government version of Tim Duncan's ho-hum center side-kick" role. Cast Joel's hot little MILF for Eva Longoria and Assclown McScribbles as Coyote (the Spurs mascot). That leaves me in the role as "middle-aged man's Greg Popovich" (but with much better skin). See? It all works.
You say this like he's not going to get better or something. I think he's only going to get better and thus his value will go up. His game improved much like Batum's did. They both made big strides this year. Saying Bayless can average 20pts/G in this league doesn't mean he'll do it on this team, just that he has the ability to be that kind of player, which I think he does. He doesn't necessarily have to average 20pts/G for that statement to be true. Not sure a true PG is what this team needs. If Bayless gets an outside shot he'd be pretty close to what the Blazers need imo. He'll need to be a better passer as well, and he's shown flashes of being a good passer. To top it all off Bayless seems to be a mentally tough player with a killer instinct. He goes for the throat. He just needs to keep improving, which I think he will because of his work ethic. He's an interesting wild card going into next year.
I agree. I believe the playoffs tell more about a player than most of the regular season games do, especially when looking at developing talent. Some players are guys that step up their game when the playoffs come. Some players are not. His first year in the playoffs he stepped up, not out, like some guards on the team (cough...cough....Rudy..cough...)
This sounds a whole lot like what I've heard about Martell his whole career (ie. the "Young, hard working, due for a breakout" argument). Sometimes players do surprise and take a major leap forward and in Jerryd's case he did go from an almost completely useless rookie, evidenced by his PER of 8 to becoming a somewhat effective slashing combo guard who occasionally makes the easy pass (usually in transition) but who doesn't show a whole lot of vision or intuitive grasp of a team game. I guess what we're really talking about are probabilities. What's more probable, Jerryd making vast improvements in areas that he's not very strong or being able to trade him (alone or in a package) for a player who already possesses the qualities that would fit more naturally into the team's needs?
