Bayless or Batum ...

[Nikolokolus]

as this team's future point guard/forward?

Andre Miller won't be able to play forever, so let's say you have to pick one of these two current Blazers to be this team's initiator and playmaker on offense (since you don't want Brandon doing this full time) who do you think has more potential in this capacity and why (or why not if you'd rather go that route)?

My take:
Defense:
Jerryd has the strength to fight through picks and has good lateral quickness, but his shortish arms hamper him somewhat in contesting shots, Nic on the other hand is a capable of guarding 1-4 and there's really no comparison given his lateral quickness, smarts and freakish wingspan. Advantage Nic

Court Vision/passing:
Jerryd's got a bit of a "bull in a china shop" mentality, his vision on drives is nothing but poor, he likes to jump pass, he's gotten better with the turnovers and can make the easy pass, especially in transition. Nic has shown flashes of really nice passing ability and a great understanding of spacing and angles, but he handles the ball so little in this capacity I don't think you can adequately grade him (either pass or fail). Advantage: unknown (but I would lean toward Nic)

Ball handling/driving ability:
Jerryd has a good handle, a phenomenal first step and can get to the foul line at a very high rate. Nic is still pretty shaky handling the ball in traffic, does OK in the open court and has started to show a little bit of ability to drive to the hoop, but he doesn't really beat people with his drive. Advantage Jerryd

efficiency/shooting:
Jerryd gets his shot blocked quite a bit, his jump shot is still pretty shaky, but he did show considerable improvement over his rookie year, the question remains if he'll make more leaps in subsequent years. Nic on the other hand has shown an ability to make shots in both the midrange and from distance, but usually as a spot up shooter in the corners and his 51/41% shooting was only in half of a season, so it's hard to know if this was a fluke and if he'll be able to sustain these kind of numbers down the line, especially as defenses spend more energy loading up on him. Advantage Nic

I only bring this up because Nic will probably once again play a big role as France's primary ball-handler in this year's world championships and will get another opportunity to show his stuff ... it also opens up the possibility for some very intriguing starting lineups in a few years. I'm still a little dodgy on how well Nic would handle a full court press or a pesky defender who might be able to stop his dribble or knock the ball out of his hands.

Something to think about anyway?

 

[BGrantFan]

Neither should, or will, be the primary playmaker over the next decade or so.

 

[LameR]

This is Nic pretty easily unless I misunderstood the topic. However, I think Bayless/Roy/Batum can provide an adequate amount of ball-handling, driving, shooting, and creating for others to be pretty solid if that's what we decide to roll with.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Neither should, or will, be the primary playmaker over the next decade or so.

Thanks for sharing, but that wasn't the question.

 

[BGrantFan]

Thanks for sharing, but that wasn't the question.

so let's say you have to pick one of these two current Blazers to be this team's initiator and playmaker on offense

Let's say I don't think either of them have shown the ability to initiate a championship offense, or be the playmaker for a championship offense.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Let's say I don't think either of them have shown the ability to initiate a championship offense, or be the playmaker for a championship offense.

I tend to agree that neither player is likely to become that guy, but like I said in the question it's not would you pick one, it was if you have to pick one, who would you take

 

[BGrantFan]

I tend to agree that neither player is likely to become that guy, but like I said in the question it's not would you pick one, it was if you have to pick one, who would you take

(or why not if you'd rather go that route)?

I'd rather not go that route. I gave a succinct explanation as to why I wouldn't go that route.

 

[LameR]

I misunderstood a bit. I don't want Batum initiating the offense at this point. Maybe he'll progress, but I'd rather have Bayless do it based off of their abilities. Bayless' penetration can open things up for other guys, and I'd much rather have Batum waiting to take a jumpshot than Bayless at this point.