[MelParticipant]

 Man going into that draft I thought he would have been the #4 pick to Seattle(OKC) 

I thought he was going to have a crazy impact right out the gate and he hasnt found his niche yet. it sucks. 

He went to a Portland team who just didnt have any minutes for him and now I dont even know where he plays.

Is there any chance he lives up to the potential? Remember summer league when he went to the line about 20 times a game.

[MelParticipant]

 how’d i get a negative? all i asked was if he could live up to his potential

[butidonthavemoney]

[Lotto StudParticipant]

1st off your saying he has not lived up to his potential is the wrong statement to make. He has shown & proved over the course of last season in the playoffs, he’s worth his keep.

It’s not his fault he does not get his minutes, he has proved to me he’s worth every minute. The only knock on him is he’s a scorer that does not look to distribute the ball. I love Bayless, but look for him to be dealt come trade deadline, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone before then.

[MelParticipant]

i didnt say he hasnt lived up to his potential. i Asked if he can because he’s still young. i didnt make a statement it was a question i posed. 

[Lotto StudParticipant]

Basically it’s the same thing when you’re questioning his potential.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

How can you say that Bayless has lived up to his potential thus far? At one point, he was being mentioned with Rose, Westbrook, Mayo and Gordon… IF he was THAT good, he’d be playing.

Even when he has played, he hasn’t lived up to the expectations… He’s out of control and has little to no point guard skills.

[llperez]

i dont think he questioned his potential. He actually is giving bayless credit for having more potential then he has been allowed to show in portland. But i honestly dont know if he will ever be a starter or a guy you want starting. Not a natural pg and he is often forcing his own offense to be effective. I do think he has way more in him then he has shown and should be traded somewhere or leave via free agency to show his thing eventually.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I don’t think Bayless will live up to the expectations set for him during high school and his one season at Arizona.

He’s not a starter. He’s a tweener. Not big/long enough for the two and not enough point guard skills for the one. He’s best in a 6th man role.

They need to work out a trade that’ll send him to the Suns. He could have a Barbosa type impact.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

You are right alot of the media had him as high as number 4..I think he can be a 18 point scorer in this league in the right situation…Dude reminds me of Barbosa..Bayless has good ball handling skills,a good shooter and gets to the rim…But no playmaking skills and he sometimes forces up bad shots and often fails to get his teammates involved…And his turnover ratio is very high..

[TheWizardParticipant]

I think that being put in the wrong situation could have effected his growth as a player, but it is his playing htat hasnt earned him more playing time.

He really doesnt bring anything new to the table that seperates him from the rest of the players in the league. He has great athleticism, but lacks the PG skills to use them to get other players get open looks. He is a good shotter, but definitely is not a knock-down shooter. I feel that in order for Bayless to be successful, there would have to be a talented supporting cast, so he wouldnt be a sole focus of the defense. One of his better qualities is that he has the potential to be a great defender with his speed and his athleticism.

I can definitely can see Bayless be successful in the league, but only if he gets playing time to adjust and make improvements on his untapped game.

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

The only way that I see Bayless possibly reaching his potential is if he is traded to a team that desperately needs a starting point guard.  Since he has not done too well with the minutes given to him so far in Portland, there probably aren’t too many teams that are interested in him. And the teams that are probably only interested in using him as backup role/potential if injuries happen. So if he is traded, he will probably have the same role he currently has in Portland. I really wish that Indy did not trade him to Portland on draft day back in 2008. He really could’ve flourished there as Indy’s starting PG. 

[TheWizardParticipant]

so many scenaros could have played out in the 2008 draft.

Westbrook to Memphis. (Mayo + Westbrook backourt.)

Kevin Love/Brook Lopez to OKC.(C problem would be solved, now PG? Is a better C or a better PG more important? I would have to say PG)

Brook Lopez to Bobcats.

Bayless to Sactown? (would they still have gotten tyreke?)

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 It would sure be interesting to see Westbrook in Memphis. He would be so much better than Conley and really help Memphis. If he would have gone there we might have been seeing Memphis in the playoffs year in and year out, just like we see OKC now.

As for OKC and their decision of a PG over a Center, I would have done the opposite. A center as good as Brook Lopez is does not come around too often but PG’s you can get any year. If OKC would have drafted Lopez instead, they could have gone for any point guard they wanted in 2009. There were so many last year that would have bound to find the point guard they needed. But I guess they made the right choice in selecting Westbrook. 

Bayless in Sactown also would have been interesting. He could have blossomed there as well. The question is though would they start him over Udrih. Him and Udrih would have quite a battle for the starting spot. I really think Bayless could have done better if he had stayed in Indy.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Jerryd Bayless reminds me a lot of Lou Williams.  Williams never got a chance to start untill last season really and he did a terrific job in the first 2 months of the season averaging 17 points a game shooting over 50% but then he broke his jaw.

Lou Williams can be a starter in this league but since he’s only 6’2 and more of a scoring guard he is best suited to come off the bench.  And when he get’s off the bench he is a spark of hyper athletic energy that is a focused scoring machine.  

Bayless and Williams game are very similar.   But I do think Bayless can be a starter in this league.  I think his defense has improved much and he knows how to score in this league.  

Bayless like Williams just needs a coach to believe in him enough to give him the chance.  That’s not going to happen in Portland.  There are a few teams I think he could too and start and live up to his expectations.  And I also thought the Thunder were crazy for passing on him with the 4th pick, and the Knicks even crazier.  Then the Pacers might as well of been put in a straight jacket cuz he landed on their lap and they traded him shame on them.

[sheltwon3Participant]

Bayless could be a solid 6th man ala Jamal Crawford or possibly starter like Lou Williams was at one point or Monta Ellis, another undersized shooting guard who is very quick and athletic.  Bayless would be interesting in New Orleans cept Thornton is pretty much there and brings a lot of what Bayless could bring scoring wise.  GSW would be interesting since they practically let a lot of scorers and pg go except for Curry and Ellis.  If Bayless was 2 inches taller he would be looked at different.  Also OKC did not make a bad choice in taking Westbrook over Bayless.  I have no idea what Portland is doing by drafting so many position that they are stacked at all the time unless they plan on making a blockbuster trade.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 Yeah no crap that OKC didn’t make a bad decision but at the time were you thinking that?

I just remember being extremely confused as to why Bayless dropped so far.

And I think that Bayless would be good in Sacramento because he could run off the ball on offense and guard the oppossing PG"s on defense.  I think he would be a great fit in Toronto because I would start him over Calderon or Jack.  I think he is a better play then both of them although he may not be the better PG.  Bayless never really got a chance to prove his PG skills in the league because his role of the Portland team is to come in and score not to be a facilitator.

I think he could start in Minny i still rather have Bayless then Flynn.  

I think he would be a good fit in Atlanta I like Bayless more then Jeff Teague.

And his career projection I think will be similar to Devin Harris.  Remember it took Devin Harris a few years to get his groove in the league and he came out as a JR in college.  I think Bayless got just as much potential as Harris does and he is every bit as athletic if not more.

[NJHooper95Participant]

Bayless can have a huge impact if he goes to a team that will showcase him. Bayless is very simlar to monta ellis. No one thought Ellis would put up points like this. He was second round pick and very skinny coming out of high school , GS gave him a chance and he cashed in. It wont happen in portland where Roy is very ball dominant. Bayless has great athleticism and a nice set of skills. Sure he forces shots and make bad decisions sometimes, but if you dont let a players play through some of those he will never learn to correct them. And if you know you are only going to be on the floor for a few minutes you are going force the issue alot. Bayless has alot of potential but someone has to showcase him or he will never reached his highest level.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 He averaged 14 points and 4 assists playing 28 minutes in the 6 PLAYOFF GAMES the Blazers played last year.  That’s pretty good stuff and better then Dre Miller did.

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