Bayless DNP's

[RR7]

Solid reasoning. Thanks. I'll just take that as you admitting you're wrong.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Thank you. That's why I 99% right over time.

You is?

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

You is?

In my mind, I is.

 

[Nikolokolus]

In my mind, I is.

Ah, for second I not sure if you talkin dakine pidgin.

 

[Minstrel]

Why not? Because he went to a small school? (Like Courtney Lee, Kevin Martin, Chris Kaman, et al., et al.) Because he's small? (although bigger than DJ Augustin, Aaron Brooks and TJ Ford, and by some measures, Mike Conley and Jameer Nelson)? Because he's more of a shooter than a distributor (like Aaron Brooks, Jameer Nelson, et al.)? Or just because he was taken in the second round?

Because none of the teams employing scouts to evaluate him considered him more than a borderline draftable project.

The mistake you're making is in assuming that I was making my own, personal evaluation of Mills' talent. I'm not...I've never even seen him play. I'm defining prospect status by what the consensus of the paid experts is. The fact that every team passed on him, some teams multiple times (including the Blazers), until the end of the second round says that NBA scouts don't consider him a good prospect ("good" relative to the population of drafted prospects...anyone who's drafted is good at some level).

I just don't see why you can know that he's "not a high calibre prospect", let alone "or even a good" one

I know he's not a "high-caliber prospect" because he isn't one by (my) definition. Prospect status is determined, in my opinion, by the scouting community. A player can over-perform his prospect status (like a Michael Redd or Paul Millsap), but I would say neither of them were "high-caliber prospects"...they were lower-tier prospects who surprised.

I don't know that Mills won't surprise. I would never suggest that I do. But he's clearly not viewed as a good prospect by the professionals, so I think it's reasonable to say that his prospect status is "low-caliber prospect."

 

[Minstrel]

Then why did we sign him?

Why not? I don't think he was signed instead of a clearly valuable player or prospect. There was no real opportunity cost to signing him except a roster spot. As I recall, he signed prior to Batum being lost for months, so a player like Udoka wasn't seen as necessary at the time.

 

[WillG]

Excited and looking forward to see what Mills can bring to the team further down the track.
I am a little concerned about what this medical staff will do with him given their track record with injuries the past few seasons.

 

[bluefrog]

And here's why I like Mills at this point in time.

I just cannot recall who said this, but very recently an ex NBA player stated that PG's are born and not made. Mills is a born PG. All he has to do is to learn the offense and his role in it- if he will accept it. Bayless has to be first made into a PG. The, he has to learn the rest with respect to what we expect of him.

For Mills, it's really a downhill process. For Bayless, it's uphill.

As for why we took Mills... this was one of the most PG heavy drafts I can recall. Teams usually are not in the market to use a 1st round pick on a PG, but this year there were many. Mills slipped as most teams looking for a PG found theirs. So he sank while people scooped up other position players that had even a remote prayer of making the NBA. I think if this draft was a PG weak one, Mills may have risen to the very late first round to top of the second- in other words, he may not be a world beater, but I think he's much better than where he was taken.

I feel like we got a steal with Mills. I think he will be a solid offensive threat like Tony Parker.

I don't think it matters we drafted him so low. Ramon Sessions was drafted late in the 2nd and the Spurs are constantly finding gems in the 2nd round.

 

[MARIS61]

Bayless = Miller + attempts at aggressive defense. He only fits a tiny bit better than Miller, who doesn't fit this team at all.

Once Bayless settles into a 5th guard role off the bench, Miller will be traded for a real PG.

 

[MARIS61]

The biggest difference is that one is a PG and the other is not.

Neither is a PG in reality.