Bye-Bye Jerryd Bayless: Portland Trail Blazers Guard Sent to New Orleans Hornets

The Portland Trail Blazers' offseason was dominated by speculation regarding Rudy Fernandez's desire to be traded.

On October 23, 2010, Portland made a trade, but it did not involve Fernandez.

The Blazers have shipped combo guard Jerryd Bayless—the 11th overall pick in the 2008 draft—to the New Orleans Hornets for a conditional future first round draft pick.

The deal allowed the Blazers to free up the necessary roster space to sign Fabricio Oberto, a five-year veteran center out of Argentina who should provide front court depth on a team recovering from injuries to Greg Oden, Joel Pryzbilla and Jeff Pendergraph (who is likely to be waived). 

With the acquisition of Bayless, the Hornets have built a very solid backcourt rotation starring All-Star Chris Paul and also featuring shooting guards Marcus Thornton, Willie Green and Marco Belinelli.

Bayless should be the primary backup to Chris Paul, but could even start at shooting guard. Bayless is very similar to Marcus Thornton, as they are both athletic combo guards who are very good at what they do best: scoring. 

Despite a fantastic rookie season in which he averaged 14.5 points per game and emerged as the team's leading scorer during his 17 starts, Thornton is coming off a simply terrible preseason, and his shooting woes may place him behind Bayless in the Hornets' depth chart.

Bayless, meanwhile, averaged 8.5 points in less than 18 minutes per game last season, and filled in admirably for Brandon Roy and Rudy Fernandez while they were injured. 

The Hornets have certainly hit the jackpot with this trade, as they now have several guards with considerable potential playing alongside Chris Paul. Although he may not have the point guard skills of recently traded Darren Collison, Bayless can score in bursts and makes the Hornets' bench unit much stronger. 

The Blazers don't appear to be getting a whole lot out of the trade, although if the Hornets fail to make the playoffs they could have a lottery pick on their hands (assuming the pick isn't protected in the lottery).

With Bayless gone, Wesley Matthews may get the majority of the backup point guard minutes, though Patrick Mills and Armon Johnson are also options.

Although hardly a blockbuster trade, the Bayless deal should benefit both teams and could give Bayless a chance to live up to his potential on a new team.