Interesting. The good news: Nate understands what he has in Miller, and values it. That should relieve much of the "Miller won't fit in" worries. The bad news: It sounds like Nate and KP aren't entirely on the same page. Also, I find it interesting that KP pretty much admits what many of us have suspected - he has a real emotional attachement to "his guys." Perhaps, too much so. It will be fascinating to watch this play out.
Yeah, that was disturbing to me, too. Saying he has an "emotional connection" and "he believes in these guys" suggest a possible weakness in his ability to analyze. I don't know what it means to "believe in" the players. He should believe in their proven ability. If he can move one or more of them for players who are better, he should believe in those players he can trade for. I guess Bill Parcells has done fine having emotional investment in "his guys." But I'd really rather than Pritchard didn't put extra stock in players because he knows and likes them. On the positive side, it sounds like Bayless has a fantastic attitude. Competitive but not an ego-maniac. I never bought that Portland had to deal Bayless and now this seems like there's absolutely no reason to worry about entering the season with Bayless as the third-stringer.
I'm excited that McMillan seems to think Dre can be a tutor of sorts for Bayless ... and from the sounds of things Bayless might even be amenable to it. Anybody else wondering that if things go well enough you might even see Miller assume an assistant coaching role in a few years when his playing days are done -- maybe not here in Portland, but somewhere in the NBA?
Just wanted to follow up and say one other thing about the article in general; Quick is really a helluva good beat reporter and has really stepped up his writing in the past couple of seasons (probably doesn't hurt that he doesn't have to write about douchebaggy players and followup with the Portland PD to flesh out his stories).
That bothered me also, and I couldn't help but chuckle when I read a little later in the article: "Last I checked, the NBA is not about feelings. It's about winning."
I agree about Bayless. He just needs to recognize that he is not ready to be the starter, and being tutored by Miller is no worse - and maybe better - than backing up Blake.
Quick has gone from Damon (you cringe everytime he takes the court) to Travis (inconsistent, but good things happen at least *some* of the time!)
He hasn't exactly bungled this group. The 2nd best record in the West, with a very young roster full of "his guys", seems like a good thing to me. Keep giving the fans "your guys", KP (just extend them, for Pete's sake). Of course, I like this team and wonder how Miller fits in, but that seems to be a minority opinion, and I think that having Blake as a back-up PG compared to what the team had last year is a positive.
Just the opposite for me. Sad to hear Nate is still beating that dead horse of falling head over heels for players simply 'cause they remind him of himself attitude-wise, then trying to mold them into some distorted replica of the young Nate McMillan, PG, whether they have the skills for it or not. Better that Roy and Rudy school Bayless than waste Andre's time on trying to make him a PG.
It's great to hear that Bayless is taking everything in stride. I hope that he's the one to take over when Miller starts to deteriorate. I could definitely see Bayless in a Devis Harris type of situation back when he was with Dallas. Showing flashes, but taking a few years to develop. Hopefully we don't trade him when he's ripe to explode. Heck, Bayless could even turn out to be very similar to Harris.
I don't ever remember agreeng with Quick more than i did in this article. I am shocked. I love this statement: "Will Bayless be ready to inherit Blake's role? We'll see But what's the rush? Worrying about Bayless' feelings? Please. You certainly don't give up on the kid after one season, and if you are talking about trading him, what do you envision getting in return considering he is on a rookie salary? You don't just throw away a lottery pick. You develop them."
Here's some handy links to help you get settled in with your new team: http://www.sacbee.com/kings/ http://www.sactownroyalty.com/ Enjoy.
KP has no reason to not "believe in his guys". They have improved every single year he's been around. What reason does he have to partially break up a team that is consistently winning? You can't fault him for that.
Agreed. I think people need to realize the NBA isn't like your $50 Fantasy NBA League you play each season.
True, and as the roster stands, we're pretty deep in the event of an injury: Miller -> Blake Roy -> Rudy Batum -> Webster LMA -> Outlaw (or rookie) Oden -> Pryzbilla Everyone on the second list is a legit spot-starter, if not more like Pryzbilla. So we can play at a high level even though the injuries that will occur (because no team gets through the season without the injury bug...even just a little bit).
