Jerryd Bayless - Where Do We Go From Here?

Oh what a difference a game makes Blazer fans!  Until last night, Jerryd Bayless was somewhat of an enigma - a young player with obvious talent that hadn't seen enough time or opportunities to really define where he was as a player and what his NBA potential could really be.  We had read the articles about his work ethic, focus, intense competitive nature - the side work he did with coaches brought in specifically to work with him on shooting and ball-handling skills...and we had seen moments, or spurts if you will, where Jerryd gave us a glimpse of the potential star-player qualities he possessed.  But until last night, outside of the circles of intense Blazer fans, he was widely regarded as just that, an emerging talent that was largely unproven.

Now I'm not saying a single game warrants elevating him to a new pedestal, but it's also important not to underestimate the effect that a performance like his, on national television against a legitimate Western Conference contender, can make on his fledgling career.  While I am not surprised that Nate claimed he hasn't considered changing Rex's position in the rotation, I do believe his play against Phoenix is going to light a bit of a fire under a couple of angles in regards to Bayless and his future...

1)  How do the Blazers NOT give him more minutes now?

As Dave eluded in his post-game summary, what Bayless gave this team was something that seemed to be leaving us more and more on a daily basis - hope and excitement.  In a young season that has already seen us lose 2 starters and our 2 top reserves to injury for long periods of time, coupled with a somewhat disappointing and lackluster start  by our players that are healthy, Bayless provided the spark and "tingle" that we needed so desperately.  Which leads to my point above, how does this team, management, and coaching staff not give him more time on the floor right now?  With a fan base that now will be rabidly demanding to see him more, the uninspiring play of Andre Miller and Steve Blake so far, and the relative lack of another option, I just don't see how they can not play him more moving forward.  Not to mention, he seems to be a smashing compliment to Brandon Roy - even more so than Blake- a guy who can stroke the deep jumper when the defense collapses on Roy, attack when it is out of position or slow to recover (keeping some wear an tear of Brandon), and that CAN ACTUALLY DEFEND AND STAY IN FRONT OF other point guards...

2)  If they don't end up giving him more minutes - he now has even more clout to want to play elsewhere

There recently have been rumors circulating that Bayless had asked to be traded, even though those ave largely been proven to be untrue.  But now the question becomes: If the Blazers stick to Miller and Blake getting the most run, with Rudy seeing a lot of minutes when he comes back, is Jerryd wrong to want to play elsewhere?  The guy has worked hard and done - at least from what we can see, pretty much everything the team has asked of him.  And compounding that, he has now shown on a national stage, that he is capable of being a big-time NBA player.  Once again, I'm not saying that one game changes everything, but at the same time it sort of does.  He showed the ability to push tempo, attack the basket, hit the open jumper from deep, and play great defense.  Those skills are not flukish, but more of a sign of things to come.  If the Blazers are not willing to let him fully showcase them here, I can't blame the guy for wanting to go somewhere where he can, which leads to my next point...

3)  The rest of the league has now seen what he can do - confirming what they already knew

Remember, Jerryd was the 11th pick in the draft, but leading up to the draft was rated as a top-5 prospect.  Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley were the consensus 1-2, but after that, Bayless was rated right next to Russell Westbrook and OJ Mayo in that next tier.  He "slipped" to Indiana, and the only reason they traded him was because they were loaded at the point and coveted a wing stopper in Brandon Rush.  But the league in general knows how good this guy really is, and you have to think that several teams have been sitting back and scheming on how to pluck him from the abundantly-talented Blazers roster when the time is right.  Last night's game only made that even more of a reality.  While most GMs and team personnel would base their evaluation off of his entire body of work, including his time at Arizona, you just can't underestimate the effect and resulting hype of a huge performance on a national stage can have.  Now fans in other NBA cities will start the "How do we get Bayless", "If we got Jerryd Bayless we would be that much better" proclamations, as they know very well that he is not, as of now, a featured member of our rotation, and more of a luxury chip we have waiting for us on the bench if we need him.  In short, if GMs and personnel people around the league had forgotten about him at all, they were reminded last night.

So we either to get this guy on the floor A LOT more, or realize the possibility that he could take his talents elsewhere if we don't.  

Thoughts Blazer's Edge community??????