So does anyone miss Jarrett Jack?  I always liked that guy a lot, I liked his toughness…  I like to imagine pairing him on the court with Joel Pryzbilla to give the attitude that I would love to see from the bench of the Trail Blazers.  And I said BENCH, but… what if Jarrett Jack were the PG to get away?  I doubt it. Regardless, Jarrett Jack flat out won the starting PG duties in Indiana midway through this past season, beating out TJ Ford hands down in both play and team leadership.  Jarrett had good stats 13.1 points per game, 4.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds per game, shot 45%FG, 35%3’s, had 1+ steals per game, a Hollinger PER of 13.10 (not as good as Steve Blake at 14.49, Blake turns the ball over way less).  Jarrett Jack has incredible leadership skills, even if some Blazer fans didn’t believe in Jack’s intangibles, that well chronicled position battle between Jarrett Jack and TJ Ford was won by Jack.  Jarrett was the best option for the Pacers to play consistently and win games, because of the respect that his team mates have for him and Jack’s willingness to trust his consistent effort to come through for him he did an admirable job helping the Pacers to within 1 spot out of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.  Indiana finished 36 – 46, Three wins shy of the playoffs.

So why all this chatter about Jarrett Jack?  Simply, I started to realize that Jerryd Bayless was reminding me of Jarrett Jack.  The ability to get to the rim, albeit Bayless has much more flare here than Jack.  The reputation of a training fiend and hoops-a-holic mentality, though many fans and media types might be thinking this type of “news” is an attempt to create a feel-good story or something, but intangibles are very important to teams as Jack proved this season in Indiana.  Jack was Portland’s off-season “Captain”, was a leader in the weight room, conditioning and keeping enthusiastic about training; that is whole-heartedly what I believe Jerryd Bayless needs to be if he even wants a SNIFF at the starting point guard role.  Jay Bay should fly out to live with Oden in Ohio and get that dude in the gym two times per day.  That is the kind of leadership the next point guard of the Blazers should be.  So is Jerryd Bayless going to be better than Jarrett Jack by the time he is 4 years into the league? 

Here is what ESPN’s Hollinger wrote about Jerryd Bayless, age 20, 1 year exp.:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/players/hollinger?playerId=3417

2008-09 outlook: Portland picked up the shoot-first point guard in a draft-day trade with Indiana, and it looks like he might play fairly substantial minutes immediately. Bayless only played one season at Arizona, but his college stats were impressive, and at 6-foot-3 he has enough size to move up to the 2 when Portland wants to play small. Bayless shot 40.7 percent on 3s and 83.9 percent from the line in his one college season, so once he adapts to the pro 3-point line he should be a force from long range. But his instincts are as a driver off the dribble, and he has a good first step to the basket.

Here is what ESPN’s Hollinger wrote about Jarrett Jack, age 25, 4 years exp.:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/players/hollinger?playerId=2768

Scouting report: A strong pick-and-roll driver who has excellent size and strength for a point guard, Jack is comfortable going to the rim and absorbing contact. He's also become a passable outside shooter, so opponents can't just go under the screen and lay in wait.

Additionally, Jack's size and strength make him an excellent rebounder and defender for a point guard ... except that he's not a point guard. Jack is turnover-prone, has a shoot-first mentality, doesn't push the ball in transition and doesn't see the floor well, so he's really more of a combo guard or even a pure shooting guard. Though he's an inch short for that spot he can defend the position because he's quick and strong, and it may end up being his best spot long-term.

2008-09 outlook: Jack was traded in the offseason to Indiana, where he'll either be in a combo guard role or a pure shooting guard slot coming off the bench -- something he's better suited for than the point. The Pacers need players who can get to the basket, so he fills a need there as well. All told, it's a helpful move for him, not to mention a timely one -- he'll be restricted free agent after the season if the Pacers don't extend him by opening day.

Most similar at age: Vinnie Del Negro

I dunno?  Personally I believe that Jerryd Bayless has more upside than where Jarrett Jack is right now. I feel that a lot of people around here need to be reminded of what type of prospect Jerryd Bayless was when Portland landed him.  KP’s work to get a player that was slated to be a #3 to #6 pick who slid and Portland was able to maneuver for him… and it cost us Jarrett Jack to do it.  Here is a draft bio from collegehoopsnet.com: http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/story/jerryd_bayless_nba_draft_profile41877

Jerryd Bayless

 Outlook: Consistent NBA Starter

College: Arizona

Class: Freshman　

Position: PG

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 193lbs

Accolades:  Gatorade Player of the Year – Arizona – high school (06 & 07), First Team All-Arizona – high school (04, 05, 06, 07), McDonald’s All-American – high school (07), First Team Parade All-American – high school (07), USA U-18 Team (06).

Scouting Report:  A lightning quick scoring point guard.     

Strengths:  Blow-by quickness – leaves defenders in the dust.  Great slasher – gets to the hoop and finishes.  Great at drawing fouls and a superb free throw shooter.  Solid, quick defender.  An explosive scorer – had three straight 30-plus point games in Pac-10 competition this year.  Three-point range on his jumper.  Versatile – can play both guard spots.  Can elevate and hit his jumper over defenders.  Can be unstoppable off the dribble – very good at getting by and/or eluding defenders.  Decent assist man.  Shoots for a high percentage for a guard.

Weaknesses:  Inexperienced – only one year of college.  Is not really a true point guard – more of a combo guard.  More of a scorer than a passer.  Turns the ball over too much.  Will need time to learn to run an NBA offense and learn the pro point guard game.  A little undersized for the NBA if he plays shooting guard.

Projected 2008 Draft Range:  Between number three and number six overall.

Consensus:  Bayless’ draft stock has exploded as the season has gone on and he continues to pile the points on the board.  His offensive skills are NBA ready, but in order to really excel he will have to become more of a point guard or risk becoming a dreaded “tweener”.

So what do we all think about how this “transaction” by KP has worked so far.  The weakest part of the Blazers in the playoffs was perimeter defense, which is one spot that Jarrett Jack was more than solid on… not to mention 6’6” Kareem Rush who was also part of that trade is very athletic perimeter defender as well.  Maybe Portland would have been better this year in playoffs with Jack and Rush? 

I am still excited about Bayless because of his athleticism which is better than either Jack or Rush.  I also believe that Bayless’s competitiveness is going to make a very solid on-ball perimeter defender, JBay has got too much pride to get beat all night long!  I also believe that this season’s “The Coach Nate Experience” didn’t give Bayless much opportunity to get his shot rolling.  Bayless will be at least a 40% 3-point shooter, and 45+% FG shooter, not to mention his ability to get to the free-line AND, more importantly, draw those costly fouls on opponents post players.  I agree with collegehoopsnet.com’s draft bio rating Bayless’s prospect level to being a “consistent NBA starter”.   Since he is on Portland, Bayless has the potential to become a Consistent NBA starter on a Championship Team.

My Bottom Line:  Jerryd Bayless was hyped to have been this great move by KP, but Nate McMillan is going to have to give Jerryd Bayless faith and consistent minutes if Bayless is to have any chance at working out on this roster.  Portland has a strong cast of players to be play surrounding Jerryd, if Jerryd is to ever be the pg in Portland, Nate will need to play Jerryd consistently next to Brandon Roy so they can work together and get to know eachother’s game nightly.  Even though I am lobbying for Nate to simply hand the keys over to Bayless as the starting PG for half a season no ifs ands or buts, I still unconditionally believe Jerryd Bayless needs to be filling that “off-season” captain void that left when Jarrett Jack was traded.  If Bayless establishes himself as a leader THIS offseason, he undoubtedly deserves the starting gig day 1 through all-star break next season.