Why did Bayless fall so far down?

Has short arms… Just saying.

But, if wingspan was all someone needed for defense, Travis Outlaw wouldn’t be the worst defender on the Blazers.

I’ve heard/read the same things, but Bayless was regarded as a good defender with lockdown potential, and that’s because of his quick and big he is.

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?page=&year=2008&sort2=DESC&draft=0&pos=0&sort=

Aside from his arm length, his lateral quickness and other measurements are either the same or better than Derrick Rose, and that’s why he should be a great defender over time. He’s 6’3” in shoes, and his arms are a lil’ over 6’3”, so while it’s not as nice as Rose’s 6’8” reach, it isn’t horrible. His arms are as long as shorty DJ Augustin’s after all, and with the added height and size otherwise, I don’t worry about it too much.

That’s one reason I really like this pick (aside from the obvious ‘bang for our buck’ stuff); not only is he a great scorer and has already-good PG skills, his super-quickness and size should make him a really good defender—but beyond his size and athleticism, he seems like a really smart kid who GETS how offense and defense works. If ya just can’t get a handle on HOW to defend mentally, then all the athleticism in the world doesn’t help that much.

So yeah, his arms are short when compared to NBA playas’, but I think it’s a kinda lame argument for why he’d be a bad defender when so many lanky long armed players who aren’t as athletic as Bayless are really bad defenders.

Don’t get me wrong, I wish he had a 6’9” reach… but as long as he gots the other stuff (and he appears he does), I don’t mind his arms being normal length. Time will tell, of course.

Mortimer

SOMETHING to have come out right before or after the draft to explain it, if there was “something” to cause him to fall.

Everything has been overwhelmingly positive, from what I’ve read. No kidney problem, no heart murmur, no attitude dealio either. Just perfect.

I think he is far better than Alexander, Westbrook, and Augustin. You can throw the Guinea in NY in that list as well. The first three were the proverbial ‘hyped right before the draft and taken too high’ case, which usually only causes 1 guy to get taken too high, not 3. The Italian kid is intriguing enough, and could be a perfect fit for the D’Antoni system that the pick is excusable.

However, Bayless woulda’ been prolly nicer running a D’Antoni. That team NEEDS a PG.

The Sonics needed a PG, and got a combo guard in Westbrook, so if they liked his defensive potential over the fact that he isn’t a real PG yet, that’s fine. I’ll go with it, since it favors us. Next was Memphis, who ended up with Mayo, and didn’t need a PG since they have a few that’ll end up as nice players probably. Then NY, who shoulda’ taken him for sure, but liked the exotic Euro instead.

Then the Clippers… well, they need a PG unless Livingston is healthy, but to me even if he’s healthy they need a PG because he’s just a banana peel away from the morgue. They liked the scoring of Gordon, and they needed a guard who can score. I can see it.

Then Milwaukee has Mo Williams, who can’t/doesn’t play defense, but is a good offensive PG. They fell in love with Alexander, but I bet you he’ll prove to be the guy who look great in workouts and so-so in games. I got enough problems with the current Outlaw, I don’t need a White version that is even LESS experienced. Count me out, and thank goodness they liked him.

Charlotte takes Augustin for mysterious reasons, unless Larry Brown just loves the kid’s pure PG-ee-ness more than Bayless. Perhaps they were trying to beat KP at his own game and disrupt a potential trade the Blazers had in place, but if so they are silly dilly’s and shoulda’ just went for BPA. I coulda’ lived with Augustin if KP liked him the best, but I wasn’t ever that sure about the DJ kid because of his height. It IS a big deal, even with the size we got otherwise.

End of the day, they take DJ over Bayless, for whatever reason. I don’t understand it, but they have routinely taken the wrong player in drafts, for whatever reason they think is wise at the time.

The Nets come next, and they got Devin Harris, who I can only hope Bayless becomes a better version of. They got no need for Bayless except to trade him, and instead of messing with that noise they take a stiff big who will be a role player at best. Hey, that’s their call. I’m sure Brook Lopez will double his 6 boards a game in the NCAA once he gets to the bigger/faster/stronger NBA.

So then, after a few logical (if ultimately erroneous) picks based upon ‘need’ or trade speculation (which I think is a likely reason the Bobcats did what they did), Bayless finds his way down to Indiana at #11. A deal was already in place to swap picks, Indy has to honor it and already traded for a starting PG in TJ “Like a Rock” Ford.

So, we end up with Bayless and it is NOBODIES fault except the team’s picking.

At least, until I hear that Bayless has a child porn dungeon that everyone found out about aside from Kevin Pritchard, I’ll assume this was the case.

There is plenty of historical instances where this has happened to GOOD to GREAT players, and there was no real reason that they fell. I just feel lucky we got a GM who could take advantage of one of these situations, and turned a #13 pick and 2 non-rotation dudes into a potential star who is also a great kid.

If it wasn’t KP, perhaps I’d worry more… I can only assume that if there WAS a real, valid reason he fell to #11 beyond what I listed above, that KP would know it. Since we got him and all signs point to it being a burgle by KP, I’m more than happy with the pick.

How does that guy do it? We all know KP is from Indiana, right? He prolly adored Bird as a HS kid, and a young man. KP just ripped off his idol, potentially. That is awesome, and I hope to do the same one day.

Mortimer