Did you just talk to me about hubris? Is the irony intentional or accidental? If it is intentional, it is pretty funny. If it is accidental, it is even funnier.

I look forward to meeting you someday at one of the BEdge functions. I appreciate a young man who is knowledgeable and states his opinions forcefully. Over the past year, I have acknowledged on several occasions that I respect your knowledge of the game and the players. I know the Xs and Os and the players less well, but I have followed the game for a long time, all the way back to the beginning of the franchise when I was a kid.

We disagree about Bayless. Fine, time will tell. I think the biggest disagreement we have is not so much about this particular player’s future, but rather the clarity of our crystal balls. You have seemed absolutely certain that Bayless was a lousy pick from day one. I wrote a Fanpost a while back where I said I thought there was about a 60% chance that Bayless will become a good enough distributor and an efficient enough scorer to start at PG next to Roy and Rudy.

Let me make a poker analogy. My position has never been to be “all in” on Bayless. My position has been that Bayless is a smart, cost effective bet. Given the rarity of good PGs, and the cost of those PGs, we are getting good “pot odds” by betting on Bayless. Think of it as having a four card flush draw at the turn.

If Bayless develops, we fill the teams greatest long term roster need. If he doesn’t, we are right were we would be if we traded him away, i.e. in need of a starting PG in two years. Bayless has some trade value based on potential, but not enough at this point to land a significant player on his own. Packaging Bayless and Trout for a slight upgrade at back-up 4, simply does not make any sense to me. The only way that it makes sense, is if you are absolutely certain that Bayless will not develop.

I don’t care how many player analogies you cite. Some “combo” type guys make the transition, some don’t. I look at Bayless and I think he has the right physical attributes, intelligence, and work ethic to at least have a decent shot.

We both should avoid acting certain about the future, and the hubris that would involve.