My thoughts exactly. It seems like a move the coach would hate but the GM would do anyway just to appease their star. Yeah, I noticed that Childress is being listed as a SG--doesn't make sense to me. In any case, I was envisioning Bayless as kind of a poor-man's Barbosa in Phoenix; I see their games as relatively similar. If Barbosa worked in their system, Bayless should too. However, this again depends upon the GM's opinion of Bayless, not mine or Suns fans'. I think you mischaracterize Bayless here. He may not be Deron Williams, but he's more of a point guard than a Ben Gordon or an OJ Mayo. Look at his assist% last year--22.1%. Compare to the rest of the Blazers last year; Blake was almost the same (22.5%), Roy just a tad higher (23.1%), and Rudy "unselfish to a fault" Fernandez was significantly lower at 13.1%. Bayless is more of a distributor than you give him credit for. And still, the point remains--we've never seen he and Roy try to coexist for an extended period of time. I'd like to see that before we give up on him.
Actually, you do. Some teams have a clear policy of keeping a small rotation of guys and it seems to make them blossom. Whereas in a situation where either one player is forever looking over his shoulder, or another player who thinks he is as good as the one getting the minutes, it can poison a lockerroom. The Spurs, the Jazz, the Nuggets and the Lakers all have a history of letting what have appeared to be talented young players just walk to maintain team chemistry. We always think of the Lakers as paper-thin at PG, yet they let a still-young, obviously talented Jordan Farmar (whom Lakers fans had been CLAMORING to get minutes over Derek Fisher) go because he wasn't right for their system. The Nuggets and the Jazz essentially have one gap in their starting five that they just plug with journeyman (SG in both cases) and do just fine. Sometimes less really is more, as Bob Whitsitt (bless his heart) never really learned. Great psychological insight. Clearly you've been to leadership school. Well duh. Of course, I don't think I suggested that. But I also don't think Bayless partisans will ever appreciate what Rudy gets about basketball that Bayless doesn't.
I would argue that those numbers are misleading. I'm not claiming that Rudy should be the PG (clearly he doesn't have the penetrating skills or handle) but he moves the ball and feeds the post very well. This isn't necessarily going to get him high assist numbers but is evidence of his willingness to play team ball. Meanwhile, a total ball-hog can get relatively high assists because the only time he gives up the ball is when the defense has collapsed on him and he dumps the ball to somebody who has to shoot. Just by being given the role of a PG you can get more assists than if (say) you're waiting in the post for a pass that never comes. I just know that I have watched a lot of Blazer basketball and I have never seen Bayless make a pass that surprised me and made me think he had PG instincts. But I have that with Rudy on many occasions. And conversely, I have often seen Bayless NOT make a pass that seemed obvious, especially to the player asking for the ball. We HAVE seen him and Rudy try to coexist - and guess what? Bayless's numbers went way up and Rudy's way down. Hmm....
I have thought long and hard about Mo Williams (I have GOT to get a life) and I am torn. He's much less of a natural PG than Miller, but he is a better shooter, so might work very well next to Roy. He makes around $9M so could be had for Jerryd plus either Miller or Joel. But I wouldn't want to give up Miller. And if they took Joel just to dump salary, we would have Miller AND Williams, and that might be toxic. Ideally Williams would play alongside Roy, while Miller played alongside Rudy, but would there be minutes to keep people happy? Here's a trade I suggested a while back: Bayless + Miller + Joel for Williams and Varejao. I am still intrigued, and I actually think Cleveland might consider it if only as a way to dump a couple of nasty contracts. But the downside is, we are left with NO truly natural PG.
Yo be fair - JB's usage% is higher than Rudy's - so his AST% being higher is to be expected, but, on the other hand, he actually has a handle and the ability to go into the lane and absorb contact, which is the key in today's NBA to setting up people. So, JB is a better play maker than people give him credit for - even if he never going to be a prime example of a classic PG, which, to be fair, is not an issue on this team with Roy in the back-court. Rudy, on the other hand, is completely incapable to be a serious play-maker in the NBA - his handle is not good enough and his ability to go into the lane with the ball is very limited.
My thoughts exactly. As for trading Bayless...I'd be open to it if the team could package him for a talent upgrade. I, however, likely rate his talent significantly higher than the OP, so my idea of what constitutes a talent upgrade is likely quite different. Further, I'm not entirely sure what kind of player would represent a "better fit." I don't think a classic point guard is a better fit alongside Roy and, in any case, classic point guards are currently split into two classes as far as is relevant here: far too good to be acquired for Bayless and any other piece that isn't Roy/Oden or else not good enough to really be a talent upgrade. I echo PtldPlatypus' desire to see Bayless and Roy play together for significant minutes before abandoning that as a potential "backcourt of the future."
If Armon could develop his long-ball - he might actually be the best potential fit for this team as a perfect PG next to Roy - but until this is shown to really be the case - JB is the best option currently on the roster imho.
Great game - and a reason to miss Bayless if he went. But not because he's a PG. I realize you must have picked that game because he had a great shooting night, but I saw ONE even mildly creative pass from Bayless (wraparound to Aldridge for the baseline jumper) which is about the same as what the currently unemployed Roger Mason (who also had a great game that night, if Mike Barrett was to be believed) managed (except Mason's was better and brought the Spurs to within 2 with under 30 seconds left). It was weird seeing Blake, and it was actually obvious how much more natural a PG he is than Bayless. So, best use for Bayless: instant offense off the bench when all else fails. In other words, as a Brandon stand-in and NOT as a backcourt mate to Brandon. He can charge into the lane and draw fouls (if he doesn't dribble it off his foot first). But I would truly prefer a total team effort where the offense is less ugly.
Bayless defenders cite the change in his statistics, not the stats themselves. He improved from terrible as a rookie, all the way up to well below average last year. Bayless critics cite their eyeballs. He gets his stats only when all 4 teammates pitch in to get him the basket (or assist or steal) by stopping normal play and clearing out of the way. Instead of being a guard who makes others better, he makes only himself better, at the expense of others. The only time his teammates benefit is when the opponent doesn't anticipate the degree of his sefishness, and the opponent is caught surprised assuming a pass, and Bayless (doing what he has to do, he can't do anything else) bulls in for the layup (usually missed, because his mind is on getting fouled, counting on the defender's surprise at his selfishness). This FlimFlam Man stuff works only as long as the opponent is surprised by the stupidity. Were Bayless ever to regularly start, the opponent would easily adjust and Bayless would have nothing he can do. Bayless will never be a regular NBA starter for any coach or team. He can only play in a surprise pop-up role.
I really have no idea who would want him too. Perhaps Atlanta if Crawford went somewhere (even here), or maybe Monty would want him in New Orleans (but they have belinelli and thornton), perhaps memphis if they go with OJ at point (who has size and can't drive), but it seems like many teams have established gunners or are developing their own already. I could see him fitting in New York, but I can't think of much we would want from there. Turiaf is the only player I'd like to see on our team, and I can't think of anything that'd make much sense between our teams. (Pryzbilla, Pendergraph, and Bayless for Turiaf and ???) Atlanta needs some size: Bayless and Pryzbilla for Crawford (who is expiring) some sort of three way: Bayless/Pryz to Atlanta, Crawford to ?, ? to us
15.0 is an average PER, Bayless last year posted a 14.3 PER. in general, using ridiculous distortions to make a point backfires against whatever view a poster is pushing. STOMP
15.0 is not the average PER for players, it's the average PER per minute. a PER of 15.0 is generally thought of as the "average" starter quality player in the league - so JB's PER of 16 in the playoffs is actually very good for a 2nd year player selected at the bottom end of the lottery...
thanks for the expansion/clarification of the PER stat... I wasn't confused but others may have been by my comment STOMP
*Bump.* I remember the second year Bayless played Summer League, when he was really trying to convert to PG, his first game was really encouraging. He got a bunch of assists and the team looked good. But then he was never able to repeat it for whatever reason. Well, this preseason seems to be doing the same. First game, Bayless gets a bunch of assists in a blowout Blazers' win. But since... not so much. Only this time, Armon Johnson is waiting in line ready to be the backup PG. And Johnson is a much more natural PG, and he doesn't have stumpy arms, and he really plays defense. A bunch of reviews of last night's game over on Blazer's Edge all say that Johnson looked great and Bayless can't play PG. So I STILL say, trade Bayless. Of course it's still true that nobody would want him. My fondest wish is that Sacramento decides he'd work perfectly next to Tyreke Evans and gives us Marcus Landry for him (the thinking being that they have Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Donte Green, Omri Casspi crowding the frontcourt, with Dalembert the starting C). But that's a pipe dream, I know. I'm starting to hope that Toronto or Cleveland absorb him into their trade exceptions, so that we're one step closer to clearing room to sign Fabricio Oberto.
Oberto is 35 years old and was a terrible player for the Wizards last year after being bad for three straight years in San Antonio. There's no reason to hope to acquire him, let alone work to clear space for him. Ed O.
I think a Bayless Landry trade would be good value, do note though that Landry is a UFA at the end of the yr
