I remember a couple weeks ago that Born or Buchanan said that in talking with Cho they learned that some of the Blazer players were evaluated a lot differently by other teams. I suspect Bayless was a player Cho was talking about. I suspect that that they saw a second round pick just out of college doing a better job than Bayless as a PG. I agree with those that think this will create more playing time for Rudy and I think this is important if we want this guy to buy in and be happy and productive here. I suspect that a draft pick that will probably fall in the 11-15 range is as good as we could find. I think if Bayless had shown more improvement on the defensive end (an area where you would normally expect rapid improvement), he might not have been traded, This certainly throws a different light on the original trade for the draft rights to Bayless. I don't know if it will carry over into the season, but McRoberts has been starting in preseason for Pacers, so that could be three NBA starters traded for one bench player. And Bayless' failure to develop quicker probably played into the decision to release Pritchard. Saying all that, Bayless still could develop late like Billups; there is no argument about how hard he works. although I did have some questions on whether he was always working on the right stuff.
Yes, he could develop late. Like maybe his third or fourth season. I still don't quite understand why people act like Bayless a sixth year player in his late-20s. At 22, he's basically the same age as many of the players drafted this year.
At least he didn't bitch and go public with it helping lower his value. And this is just another reason I hate Rudy and want him gone.
I really like Jrue Holiday. One of the better young defenders at his position in the league, has a respectable jumper and can facilitate an offense, or can be content deferring to a teammate... Unfortunately, I think Philly feels the same way I do.
I could have been a stud if not for being too short and having too little talent and too little desire. barfo
I don't guess he fit in anyone else's future plans, thus the relatively low price. Fundamental problem: he just doesn't fit in the NBA. Small SG's aren't in demand. barfo
its not so much losing bayless.... its that we arent upgrading but downgrading i just feel like the blazers have a feeling this is gonna be a bad season and are preparing for next year again relying on a gimps health
Agreed. It's too bad. Bayless has been an incredibly hard worker his whole time with the Blazers and I think it's fair to think that all of that dedication will pay off eventually. It's too bad it won't be in Portland. Ed O.
Man, I see this as a great move, and one I'm glad to see Cho make, as it signals a change of our GM decision-making. Honestly, for whatever you might think of Bayless' skills (or lack thereof), a next-year potential lotto pick almost always trumps a young player, value-wise. For instance, what if NYK doesn't need a PG/SG, but they DO need lotto picks? What if someone wants to offer us a consolidation trade, but doesn't need a young guard? Most will take a late-lotto pick and not think twice, since it's pure trade currency. With no dollar sign attached. At the M&G I kind of cornered Cho in the office and asked a bunch of geek-style questions. One was "are you the type that will go to war with this 15, or will you keep the MO that you had with Presti and do some creative things to stockpile assets?" His response was that he's more likely to do the creative thing and stockpile assets ("you can never have enough") than to keep the same 15. We're at (have been at?) the point where we need a significant consolidation trade to upgrade talent. The types of players that we'd like coming back or have talked about in the past (CP3, Billups, G. Wallace, Bosh, whatever) are all high-salary guys who are being dumped by their bad teams looking to get cheaper and rebuild. We have a great opportunity of multiple draft picks, players who could bring back picks in return, young "talent", enough depth that we can still be good-to-great even if we jettison some of that young talent, 16M-ish worth of expiring contracts, and free-to-cheap-owners Euro rights. NO ONE involved in a trade like that would say "we're holding out until you throw Bayless in as a sweetener"...but in almost every trade a lotto-ish pick is the thing that puts the trade over the top
Thoughts: The Blazers did Bayless a huge favor. He must be so happy. Because he had NO FUTURE with our team and that was becoming increasingly clear by the day. First, we pay $34 million for Matthews who is better than Bayless. Then Rudy shows up in preseason playing better than almost anyone on the team. Meanwhile, Armon Johnsons was impressing the coaching staff in practice. Oh, and to top it off, Roy wants to play more at the point. I hope we keep Patty Mills. I think he's underrated and provides competent insurance if our whole backcourt gets injured.
All of that said, I thought Bayless deserved player of the game honors at Fan Fest. He put together a terrific game that night.
So we will more than likely have two first round draft picks to dangle when Denver decides to blow up their team after they trade Melo. I certainly don't think that this trade was done with that in mind, but first round draft picks can be assets. I want Chauncey at the trade deadline.
Another possibility is that if we are not involved in any other trades this season, come draft day, a number 11 pick and our mid-20 pick could potentially move us up if there is a player we like.
Billups would be a great pickup. I am not sure how many years he has in the gas tank, but seeing how Nash is going, I am guessing he has a few left. Players are taking better care of themselves now, and Billups game never depended fully on speed.
I think it was an excellent trade and I'm liking it more all the time. We get a first round pick that's likely to be in the 8-14 range, we clear roster space which is needed to sign Oberto, we open up minutes for Rudy, and we get a $2.3M trade exception. I don't see how you could do better than that for an undersized shooting guard that doesn't shoot well.
