If not for the other needs of teams? That’s why 2 more guards were drafted between him and Westbrook? That’s why New York decided that, despite having Chris Duhon as their only PG and Crawford as their only SG, they decided to take a 6’10 Italian swingman over him?

And no serious mock draft had Bayless going 3rd. None.

All of those guys were recent lottery picks. Felton went top 5, Foye went 6th. If there was any kind of league consensus that Bayless was a can’t miss guy, then he wouldn’t have gone 11th, plain and simple. Nearly a 3rd of the league (Chicago and Miami get passes because Rose and Beas were obvious picks) felt okay passing on Jerryd.

I’m not trying to bash the guy, but he just wasn’t the elite, can’t miss guy that you’re making him out to be. He’s a solid prospect, and I think he’ll be good, with a chance to be great in the NBA, but my point remains. Someone thought that about pretty much all of those guys, which is why they were taken highly in the draft. Both DJ Augustin and Joe Alexander were taken ahead of Jerryd, and I don’t think anyone would have any problem putting those guys in the same league with them.

and three solid performances in between, and think we’re seeing more than baby steps.

NY:
17 minutes, 14 pts, 4-5 FG, 6-7 FT, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls. By just about any measure, an excellent performance, even the fouls weren’t bad.

IND:
14 minutes, 5 pts, 2-5 FG, 1-2 FT, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 TO, 1 PF. That would be 12/5/5 per 36, that’s pretty solid.

CLE:
9 minutes, 2 pts, 0-1 FG, 2-2 FT, 2 ast. A virtual DNP, but still 8/8 per 36, and no TOs.

MIL:
19 minutes, 9 pts, 3-6 FG, 2-2 FT, 1-1 3PT, 3 reb, 0 ast, 1 TO, 3 PF. That’s 17/6 per 36, I’d call that a pretty solid performance as well.

Total of the three in-between games:
42 minutes, 16 pts, 5-12 FG, 5-6 FT, 1-1 3PT, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 TO, 4 PF. (You said 4 TOs in those three games, but he only had 2).

Per 36, that’s 14/4.3/3.4, and 1.7 TO (2/1 AST/TO). That’s hardly dominant, but it’s pretty solid play, especially considering the rotational uncertainty under which he had to work.

Combining NY and SAC:
41 minutes, 28 pts, 7-11 FG, 14-17 FT, 0-1 3PT, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 ST, 1 BL, 2 TO 5 PF.

Per 36, 24.5/2.6/3.5, and 1.3 TO.

If you tell me that 60% of the time, I’ll get 14/4.3/3.4 per 36, and the other 40% of the time I’ll get 24.5/2.6/3.5, with a 2-1 AST/TO ratio, I’ll say you’ve got a guy who is really playing well.

The last five games have been good stuff from Jerryd, even factoring in the Cleveland game, which to my way of thinking isn’t fair (he wasn’t really given a chance to get into the game). And he scored effectively against Houston as well — 22 minutes, 13 pts, 4-6 FG, 5-6 FT, 0-1 3PT.

In fact, every time he’s had 10 minutes or more, he’s scored effectively and relatively efficiently, he’s never had more than 2 turnovers in a game, and his turnovers per 36 is just under 2 per game — not bad for a young player.

He’s not an all-star or anything, his assist numbers are still low, but this kid is playing good ball this year, and the last six games have showed it. When he gets minutes, lots of good things happen. Whether that would actually carry over if he were starting or getting 36 mpg is hard to say, of course.

But he’s been much better this year than last year, and the last 6 games as he’s had more minutes (except in Cleveland) have really demonstrated that.