Hoopsworld interviewed KP yesterday, and there are some quotes:

Kevin Pritchard likes this time of year: a chance to take in some basketball and watch it all come together. Of course, there is some evaluating along the way too.

Take Jerryd Bayless for example, the Portland Trail Blazers rookie point guard. He came back for seconds on Tuesday night.

One night after scoring 28 points in his summer league debut, Bayless followed up with a 26-point performance despite the Blazers falling to the Sacramento Kings, 75-74, in overtime. And while Bayless – along with another solid outing from Petteri Kopenen (18 points) – tried desperately to string back-to-back wins together to no avail, the Blazers general manager shared his thoughts on Bayless’ overall game and what he believes summer league is truly all about.

“He’s got great legs. He’s got great size. He’s strong and he’s fearless at the basket,” Pritchard told HOOPSWORLD from the COX Pavilion in Las Vegas.

“We need a guy who can defend point guards, knock down shots and be aggressive at times and we feel Jerryd can do that.”

Certainly these last two games have proven easily why Bayless was considered by some draft experts the best point guard of his draft class. It also lends credit to Pritchard for having the prowess to once again score another steal in at the NBA Draft. It’s his claim to fame in June.

In many ways then, Portland’s 13-man summer league roster is getting the best of both worlds even if they aren’t completely aware of it. Look at Nicolas Batum for instance: The 6-8 French forward came to Las Vegas a candidate for one of the Blazers two remaining roster spots. But after two less than impressive games, it appears now he could be bound for Europe baring some spectacular play in Portland’s next three games from Batum. On the other hand, Kopenen is making a serious case for the Blazers opening day roster. After two solid games (going for 19 and 18 points respectively) the 20-year-old point guard from Finland could force Portland’s hand to finally bring him stateside.

The other option is to simply leave a roster spot open heading into next season. Although that discussion will play itself out in the coming days and through Kopenen’s consistency, one thing is for certain: Bayless sharing the backcourt with Brandon Roy at times next season would be an exciting act to behold.

Then again, who would run the point and who would be the two guard in that scenario?

“Brandon (Roy) gives us a great luxury,” Pritchard suggested when asked about visions of a Roy-Bayless backcourt. “He’s a special player. He can play multiple positions, then in the fourth quarter we give him the ball and a lot of players play off of him.”

Perhaps Bayless – or maybe even Kopenen – could be one of those guys playing off Roy when next season rolls around.

The reason I posted the Hoopsworld interview is because I’ve read KP contantly reiterate why they picked Bayless. Summer league shows some of that reason, but obviously, it will be an entirely different game when the team suits up They obviously were not looking for that “pure point guard” who would always handle the ball. They wanted a player who would “complement” Brandon – not take over. They didn’t need that. They prefer the ball in Brandon’s hands in the 4 quarters, and want someone who can play off of him. That’s not your classic point guard. Then, they wanted a strong, fearless, aggressive attacker who can finish at the basket – or dish off. This saves Brandon’s body, and plays directly to what our future strengths on the front line will be. And, who also, has a good mid-range game – as Bayless showed in college. We’re seeing some of this in summer league, but you can bet we’ll see a lot more of it as Bayless transitions onto the team. Then, they wanted a good PG defender. And, give