None of those players may be starting when the season kicks off, but I fully expect almost all of them to get heavy minutes once their coaches figure out how to use them and the players learn a bit more.
I'm surprised OJ Mayo's not getting as much attention as the other top candidates. I really think he'll be one of the best picks by the end of the season.
Lets not forget that until the day of the draft, 90% of mocks had Bayless going top-4. He's a very good player. I remember watching the draft. When Seattle/OKC drafted Westbrook I looked at the draft order and thought we would try to move up (ahead of Sacramento) to grab Bayless. When Indiana took him, I had a gut feeling that we got our guy. And it turned out to be right (I didn't buy us drafting Brandon Rush for one second). But it's still too early to call any of the players busts or sure things. It's a pretty easy statement to say that Bayless will end up top-5 in his draft though. That seems pretty likely so far. We're so loaded.
Thanks- that makes me feel a little better- to see him in comparison to Westbrook and Augustin. I guess I was hoping for another ROY candidacy out of Bayless. But, point is supposed to be the hardest position to learn.
... and everyone thought Randy Foye was going to be hot shit in his rookie year, but how did that turn out?
not quite lol. a few had him top 4 through may, but after workouts and leading up to the draft most mocks had dropped him to the 6-9 range.
Bayless will be a regular starter in the NBA only when and if an NBA team is willing to start him at his only realistic position, which is SG. He will never be a starting PG for a full season in this league, nor do I think he would want to be.
He isn't a pure PG, and i don't think he will ever be. But i think he is very likely what this team needs next to Roy for sure (and Rudy actually), and i've thought this for a while. a Roy/Rudy/Bayless backcourt rotation would be the best in the NBA in a couple years without a doubt, imo. A Bayless/Roy Bayless/Rudy backcourt would be amazing with Roy and Rudy being playmakers anyway, and they WILL have the ball in their hands (roy being the first priority). I think that Bayless is the best compliment to them because he does bring D, shooting, dribbling, etc.. He will have growing pains. I hope ppl don't give up on him and want him traded for this...
Offensively I think you might be right; Bayless certainly has a lot of scoring guard in his mental makeup, but to say that he can't be this team's point is way premature -- especially when the bulk of his responsibilities will probably be playing D on the opponent's point guard, hitting open shots, and hopefully getting to a point where he can be at least be a decent passer and setup man for his team-mates. Think more along the lines of Chauncey Billups than Jason Kidd.
That would leave us without a true point guard. I know that Roy is capable and so are Rudy and Bayless, but would it be wise to without a floor general at all? I suppose you could make the argument that the Bulls didn't really play a true point guard and some of those Laker teams didn't have one in the traditional sense. I'll have to agree with you in the sense that those three are probably the most talented guards we have. It's just a matter of whether they'll be able to create for their teammates on a regular basis. I can see either Blake or Rodriguez fitting that bill even if it's not in the roll of a starter.
I'm hardly a fan of his but dudes short NBA career has been plagued by injury... isn't he projected to be starting this year? Anyhoo, I'm happy they got Bayless in the draft this year but I don't think he'll see that much PT at least at the start of this year. Nate will want him to watch and learn the tricks of the trade from Blake and be able to be in his ear on the bench. Blake doesn't have the sort of physical gifts or jumper that Bayless possesses but is reasonably productive nonetheless. Blake seems like the perfect mentor for him to study under this year. If Bayless doesn't dig into SB's PT this year I won't be disappointed in Bayless. Matched with Rudy and Roy I think he's going to be part of a near ideal 3 guard lineup down the line. STOMP
I agree. I think people are a bit too focused on "classical roles." I think this team will go without a classic point guard and classic shooting guard and will, instead, employ a three guard rotation of play-making combo guards. Roy certainly has a floor general ability, Fernandez seems like he might and Bayless remains to be seen. But at least one of Roy or Fernandez will be on the floor all the time (in the future, when the team is using this three guard rotation, post-Blake), so there will always be someone to direct the offense. I think the team can thrive in such an arrangement.
yes. they are trying to turn him into a true PG to compliment miller. he had 15 assists in 27 minutes tonight so something must be working.
Me too, OJ has really impressed. So far I can safely say I've been dead wrong about him, although he does seem like a score-first guard so I'm not sold on him as a winning PG. But he's going to have a great career, stat-wise Others that have exceeded my expectations so far are Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, and our very own Rudy Fernandez. In fact, I'll add Batum to that list, considering my own expecatations after Las Vegas, or lack thereof. It's probably too early to say any of this, but I couldn't resist.
I'm sure that someone in Wisconsin hasn't heard a thing about Bayless yet this year. He hasn't been spectacular. It's all relative. Bayless will be good, but probably be 5th best rookie or so (that was drafted this season) 7th or so if you count Greg and Rudy.
