Buh-By Travis & Bayless

[Nikolokolus]

I believe that there is a reason that Miller was brought in and Blake only has one year on his contract left, and that same reasoning is why Bayless won't be traded unless it is a sure thing. They brought in a true PG to mentor Bayless so that by next year they will know what they really have got. Look what they did with Sergio. They gave him every chance to show what he brings to the table. I don't see any less happening with Bayless.

Not all circumstances are equal, but there was a great article on Chauncey Billups last year in ESPN the magazine that discussed the effect that being mentored by a veteran Terell Brandon had on Mr Big Shot's maturation as a real NBA point guard. I won't try and pretend that we should expect the same kind of process to occur between Bayless and Miller, but I do think he's at least got small shot ... Trouble is, I'm not sure Jerryd's got the patience to endure what would likely be at least a two year apprenticeship -- I guess we'll see

 

[Further]

That depends on what you think we need from a PG. With Roy, all we really need is someone who is a threat to score and can defend the Pg spot (although we certainly need a real passing point for when Roy is out.. but we have Miller for now). Bayless shot pretty well in college, but in his one year in the NBA that hasn't quite translated over. I'm willing to give him more time before assuming it won't. His defense needs work, but it's already better than a lot of young point guards, so there's hope there too. He may never be an amazing passer, but on this team I don't think that stops him from being successful.

Correct. The tools a "PG" needs on the Blazers are not the same as the tools on every team in the NBA. Roy is an excellent passing SG, LMA is a good passing PF and Oden is even a good passing Center. And it looks like Batum is really developing his passing skills this summer. With such a good passing team, the PG does not need to be the pure pass first PG that other teams may look for. As long as Bayless learns how to be decent at passing, this should not stop him from being a success. He just needs to 1) turn the ball over infrequently, 2) keep improving on D (he is already way ahead of most rook pg's), and 3) start making his shots. He shot well in college and has one hell of a drive inside, so I expect to see this this improve greatly.

Some tutorship under Miller regarding ball handling, captaining and passing will hopefully bring this aspect of his game up. Natural growth on D, and continued work on O, will also hopefully pay dividends.

For all my support of Bayless, I understand that he is not close to adequate as a starter now. I just see that he has tools that should mesh very well with the rest of the team down the road. And I believe his tenacity will pay off.

But even if I am wrong and he never turns into anything worthy of playing time, I still don't see the Blazers trading him now unless a big upgrade is achievable. At the moment, Bayless simply does not have a lot of value around the league. So why trade him for crap when we can hold onto him and see if he turns his value around.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

That would be best case scenario, honestly. There's no way the Pistons give up Maxiell for Travis, though.

Pistons fans disagree with you...

http://www.mlive.com/forums/pistons/index.ssf?artid=649122

 

[Boob-No-More]

I believe that there is a reason that Miller was brought in and Blake only has one year on his contract left, and that same reasoning is why Bayless won't be traded unless it is a sure thing. They brought in a true PG to mentor Bayless so that by next year they will know what they really have got. Look what they did with Sergio. They gave him every chance to show what he brings to the table. I don't see any less happening with Bayless.

Agreed 100%. I think Miller is the perfect teacher/role model for Bayless. They play a similar style. They are both very physical PGs who like to drive the lane, draw contact and get to the line. The difference is Miller has perfected the drive and dish. He will drive the lane, and when the help defense comes, he will find the open big cutting to the basket. At this point, once Bayless gets into the paint, he's only looking to dunk or draw the foul. He isn't thinking about passing. Hopefully, a year or two of watching and learning from Miller will help Bayless develop that aspect of his game.

And, if he doesn't, why not run a triangle offense a couple years down the road after Miller is retired and Bayless ready for more minutes. With Batum's improved ballhandling skills, I think a starting line-up of Oden, Aldridge, Batum, Roy and Bayless would be perfect for running the triangle. The Lakers won back-to-back titels with an over-the-hill SG (36-37 year old Ron Harper) as their starting PG. No reason a young, athletic guy like Bayless couldn't have success in a similar role.

BNM

 

[C_note]

Hahaha...So you're saying Outlaw and Bayless may be the odd men out? Way to go out on a limb there...

 

[STOMP]

Well, I like Travis, too, but he's a tweener and may get pushed out of significant minutes. He's an undersized PF and may ebnd up being the #3 SF. I think there is a good chance he won't last the season if Webster is really healthy.

I think there is an even better chance that things remain the way they've been then that they change. Worts and, all Travis has been their best forward option off the bench. Healthy or not I'm not getting my hopes up about Martell improving so much he leapfrogs TO. I've seen several claims that Outlaw is only an undersized backup 4 but though I've asked I've yet to see someone post a list of all the backups 4s who are going to abuse him down low... about the only one that springs to mind for me is Milsap. here's guessing he'll average around 25 MPG again.

Bayless needs to improve his jumper. If he raises that up to a respectable level Nate will find him minutes. Regardless, I really doubt he's going anywhere else soon.

STOMP