to get the character evaluation (as well as the talent evaluation) right. So Bayless should be fine.

After Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers declared for the NBA there were a few posts on the KUsports.com website that said similar things. North Carolina fans said similar things about Ty Lawson. Some college fans mistakenly believe they own a player for four years. They will get over it. It is too bad that Bayless got an abreviated time with Lute Olson last year.

That’s just how it is… Even B-Roy has haters… Remember all the nasty stuff that the Indy kids say about McBob? All the nasty stuff that Portland kids say about K-Love? It’s all just a bunch of snotty little shts who have nothing good to say about themselves. Probably just a bunch of worthless Kbe loving L*kers fans.

And Bayless strikes me as having a lot of determination without a lot of ego. He seems to have a lot of inner calm and seems very ready to play team ball. I liked that. At the same time, there are hardly any highlights of him in the movie. He seems like a winner but not a human highlight reel. He’d make a good San Antonio Spur.

My review of the film, for anyone who’s interested, is posted here:

http://www.offoffoff.com/film/2008/gunnin_for_that_1_spot.php

KP calls Bayless Jack on steroids, and a gym rat. He’s serious about his game, and was raised in a good family. And don’t forget family – because it’s the family that grounds kids. And, he’s still a kid. Like all 19 year olds, he has strengths and weaknesses. You can take everyone of the seven guards chosen in the first 13 of this draft, and pick them apart as well. KP also takes strong character guys with intelligence. Always has. Bayless is no different. There has never been a hint of him having “problems”, whether partying or drugs or an unwillingness to practice and get better. Every one of the seven guards can, at times, be accused of, for example, “hot dogging”. After all, I’m sure they all had games where they were the principal scorer, or, at times, too enthusiastically dunked over someone, or threw a fist in the air after a score, or whatever. They’re under a microscope. And the press, the fans of the other team, and the like, all have opinions that they then put in print. And the story makes the rounds. What’s interesting, of course, is that no-one actually had a specific example of “hot dogging”. Only the rumor. And, his coaches never felt that he was selfish or unwilling to work – only outsiders.

In the end, we have a 6’3”, 205 lb, Mitch Richmond type of guard. Strong, athletic, a leaper, able to post up or go to the hole, sturdy enough to finish, and willing to work hard. Roy will guard the other two guard, and Bayless will guard the opposing PG – neutralizing the issue of height, as few PG’s are over 6’3”. In Portland, he’ll get the coaching without the confusion that happened in College when Olsen stepped back for a year, and he won’t be expected to move from the point to the two guard for the good of the team – as happened in Az – which left him learning two positions in his first year out of high school. He’ll get to focus.

He’ll get better. Just like Roy improved over his first two years, and Aldridge and the others have done the same.

And I feel like I’m as qualified as anyone to evaluate Bayless.

I’ve wanted the Blazers to draft him since I first saw him play this year in pre-season. I watched nearly every UA game this year, and nothing I saw made me change my mind. He has an extremely complete scoring game, whether it be 3-pointers (he supposedly made 30 straight in a workout for the knicks), mid range jumpers, floaters, and lay ins with both hands. Watching his highlight real, you’ll be amazed by the body control he shows when driving and taking contact at the rim: very reminiscent of Roy. He has a dynamite first step, similar to what I see in B-Roy and OJ Mayo. Playing primarily SG this year, it will be interesting to see how he handles more of a PG role, but from what I saw he’s an able ball handler and passer. He’s been an able defender; not spectacular, but he has the athleticism to improve.

He will fit absolutely perfect with Roy in the backcourt. He has great size and quickness for defending points, can run the break, and can play off the ball in the half court set.

Incidentally, drafting Westbrook over Bayless is insane. I like Westbrook a lot, but you draft Westbrook hoping he can develop into the kind of player Bayless is. I watched them both a lot, and have no doubt that Bayless is the better pick, despite Westbrook’s superior defense.

As for Arizona fans being negative about Bayless, there are several reasons. Arizona basketball last year was disapointing, due to a rash of injuries, Lute’s hyatus, and overall mediocre performance (by Arizona standards). All the Arizona fans I know don’t consider last year to be a “real” Arizona year, due to Olsen being gone. Therefore, they were looking forward to returning Bayless, Budinger, Hill et al, and adding Jennings for a “real” Arizona team. Bayless leaving obviously ruins that.

Their impression, therefore, is of someone who took a lot of shots (he was their only real scorer for a while due to injuries), in a losing effort for an imposter Arizona team.

The equivalent would be Yankee fans disliking A-Rod, despite him being arguably the best and most productive player in baseball, because he has had the misfortune of playing for some sub-par yankee teams, thus making him “not a true Yankee.”

I was ecstatic about this pick. I didn’t think it was possible for KP to pull off, but I haven’t been this giddy about the Blazers since we won the Oden lottery. Next season can’t come soon enough.

Isn’t there some saying out there about not taking a person for granted? Meaning, Bayless grew up and played in state and often the people you grow up with have general impressions of you that are overly critical. Take for instance the hate UO fans and Oregon fans in general had against Kevin Love, I mean he can’t be that awful of a player can he – not and be picked where he was in the lottery. Yet, based on a lot of comments about him from Oregonians he sucks.

I can’t help but feel that is the case with Bayless to a certain extent.

I don’t have much to add to this discussion, but I can say that I would shudder to see what message boards would’ve said about me at 19 if I had been an elite athlete.

Ignorance has not stopped many from having loudly voiced opinion.

Wait till you at least have seen some Summer League.

As for the yahoos posting on Arizona blogs, who knows who they are. Just like here, who really has even played basketball let alone coached or scouted it. All the negativeity starting off this thread is no way to welcome a new Blazer to the team. I have great confidence in KP and Nate will develop all the new players. Come on guys, wait till the season starts to throw the guy in the wastecan.

Let’s not forget that everyone of the 7 guards taken in the top 13, with the exception of Rose, had questions. 5, after all,were freshman with very little playing experience. The knock on Mayo was whether or not he could play the point and character, Gordon’s was a poorer last 1/2 of the season and the fact that he’s smaller than the typical NBA shooting guard and didn’t have long arms, Augustin’s was size leading to concerns on defense, Westbrook’s was scoring and questions as to whether or not be could be a true point guard, and Rush’s was he was an SG that had lower scoring stats, and his injury last year. And, with Bayless, it was the question as to whether or not he could play the point. At the same time, GM’s and scouts had to look at how they were being used in the context of their teams. Rush and Westbrook weren’t expected to be the teams go to scorer like Gordon, Bayless was switched from point to SG early because of injuries, so his knock is he’s a “combo” guard. The bottom line is that the 5 freshmen have very thin resumes and one year of college isn’t much to go on. And, the NBA no longer allows the teams to scout High School games. Every GM had to look at the basic athletic skills and project the player into the NBA, since none were perfect coming out of college. And that’s where your scouting comes into play. KP’s scouting staff all had Bayless as the 4th best player in the draft. Inconsistent at times? Sure. But all of them were. He was a freshman who was moved from PG to SG, and went through a confusing coaching change. In one year, his positioned changed because of injuries, and his coach and the system changed as well. He didn’t have the time to simply own one position. In Portland, he’ll have stability, be able to work within one system, be surrounded by better players, and be able to focus on the skill set Mac requires – and then practice with that skill set. And those skills he has are considerable. He’s been accused at times of being a streaky shooter, but he can fill it up as well from almost anywhere on the court, has a great first step and powerful legs, can almost always get his shot, and, at 205 lbs, he’s got the physique and quickness to get to the basket. Mac will be retooling the team this year. The system he used last year worked to get 41 wins. But next year, it will be a different system because the team is changing. Oden will give us a different inside game. The guards, as a result, will have different roles. With Oden, Aldridge, and Outlaw/Webster on the front line, we’ll have three go-to scorers and an ability to exploit mistmatches. The guards will be doing different things, because the other teams front line cannot sag off and double team anyone on our front line, nor sag off if the guard penetrates, without giving up easy baskets. Guards will likely drive inside to attract the defense, and then dish off a lot more. The fact that the other teams PG will be guarding Bayless giving him good matchups, his ability to score from outside, and his leaping ability and his first step will make him very effective at this. But, it will take awhile for Mac to implement the system needed to take advantage of the skills he now has.