Bleacher Report - Articles by Jim Truesdale

Is Jerryd Bayless's Future with the Blazers Up in the Air?

Jim Truesdale — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:21:58 -0400

About one year ago the Portland Trail Blazers pulled off a trade that sent the rights to the 13th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts to the Indiana Pacers for one of the more promising prospects in the whole draft.

That of course being Jerryd Bayless from the University Of Arizona. After the trade, many Trail Blazer fans believed they had obtained their “Point Guard of The Future.” Now one year and 655 regular season minutes played later, some Rip City fans are singing a different tune.

Bayless has fell victim to a lot of criticism over the course of his rookie season. Most of which is due to his erratic play and inability to solidify regular playing time in the rotation. With the offseason here for the Trail Blazers and the NBA draft looming there are many questions about their roster that need to be answered.

For instance, is Jerryd Bayless STILL their “point guard of the future”? Do they need to look at Free-Agency as an avenue to upgrade the position? How about the draft?

One thing is for certain, depending on the moves (or lack thereof) made this summer, we as fans should be able to fill in the blanks and get a good feel as to the direction that the position is heading.

Many Blazer fans had lofty expectations for the young Point Guard that was pegged to go as high as No. 3 in the draft, in the months leading up to the NBA draft. Many thought that over the course of the season, Bayless would solidify the backup PG position and even start digging into Steve Blake’s ration of starting minutes.

With Bayless struggling to get on the court even toward the end of the season, many Blazer fans began to question whether he was going to be the answer heading toward the future. Rumors started circulating and before long every Blazer fan had their own theory as to why Bayless wasn’t seeing the the playing time that so many had envisioned.

Some people said it was because he was a shooting guard stuck in a point guard’s body. Some said that he couldn’t grasp the offense. Whatever the reason, the moves that the Trail Blazer’s organization make in the coming month should give us a better idea of what the future holds for this once “point guard of the future.”

From what I can gather, there are four different options for the Trail Blazers when it comes to the point guard position this summer. They can sign an Andre Miller or Jason Kidd to come in and be a “band-aid” fix for the position for the next couple of years.

They can draft yet another young and promising point guard in the draft. They could sign a younger point guard upgrade, like Raymond Felton or Ramon Sessions. Or not touch anything and come into next season with the same rotation (Blake Starting and Bayless behind him) and hope for improvement.

Each option for the team says something different about the teams plans for Jerryd Bayless and how they view his future with the team. Here’s what they mean.

Option No. 1: Band-Aid fix: Signing Andre Miller or Jason Kidd and having Bayless as their backup is saying that the time to win is now, though Bayless isn’t ready to be handed the keys quite yet. Give him a year or two behind one of these successful vets then he’s our man.

Option No. 2: Draft Another Young PG: This option tell us fans that Jerryd hasn’t improved the way the team had wished and adding another young PG will open up a competition for the position. May the best man win. In other words, the jury is still out on his future.

Option No. 3: Young Upgrade: The signing of a Raymond Felton or Ramon Sessions tells us that Bayless’s learning curve isn’t as steep as the Blazers were hoping. They want an upgrade now and one that is still young enough to grow with the team.

Option No. 4: Stand Pat: This means picking up Blake’s option and going into next season with the same point guard rotation. This is the most difficult scenario to read but thankfully least likely to unfold IMO.

With cap-space and assets that are more than likely to be moved (Second round picks/Sergio Rodriguez), I think it’s safe to say that some sort of change is inevitable.

Now that we have a general idea of what to look for this summer let’s make some predictions. I for one am very optimistic that Jerryd Bayless will be able to make the necessary changes and become a solid player in this league.

It’s not often you see a point guard as strong as him, with that kind of speed and able to get up the way he does. He has all of the physical tools to be the ideal fit at point guard for this franchise.

He’s fast enough to stick with the premier point guards in the league, can get to the rim any time he pleases and is tough. The question is, can he put it all together?

Now most Trail Blazer fans are quick to write Bayless off because of his lack of playing time. I myself like to stay optimistic because Nate has never been big on playing rookies and when Bayless was on the floor he made things happen.

With Jerryd being another year older and having a year under his belt and in Nate’s system, it’s granted that he’s going to have a bit of a longer leash.

After watching a lot of Bayless’s games the past couple of years (At UofA as well as all 655 minutes he played in the regular season) I’ve found myself trying to decipher the difference between his successful stint in college, versus his rough start to his pro career.

The biggest variable between the two was obviously playing time. Now when you figure that he was playing over 35 minutes a game at Arizona you start to correlate how his time on the court effects his production.

Bayless had a field goal percentage of almost 46 percent while in college versus 36 percent in the pros. He shot a solid 40 percent from three-point range in college, yet a frigid 26 percent in his rookie year (I have a hard time believing a measly three feet is the root cause of this).

Upon reviewing the differences between these numbers it becomes apparent that the more he’s on the floor, the more he contributes and is able to do so more efficiently.

This summer, look for Jerryd Bayless to be his normal “gym rat” self. There’s even a good chance that his lack of playing time will help spark an even greater fire/urge within him to improve his game. His participation in the Las Vegas Summer League should also help his improvement.

Naturally, Jerryd Bayless WILL improve his game. Look for Nate to gain more confidence in his young PG’s abilities this fall and supply him with more playing time next season to prove himself. While on the floor longer it’s going to allow more time for Bayless to get into his rhythm.

If you’ve been paying attention to this article you already know that with more playing time supplied to Bayless, the more he produces and the more efficient he is able to do so.

A lot of basketball fans were surprised at how quiet this talented point guards rookie season was but with natural improvement producing more time for him to prove himself, his sophomore year is setting up to be anything but.

Greg Oden Finally Ready to Flourish

Jim Truesdale — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:52:19 -0400

Greg Oden’s rookie season has come and gone. It had its up and downs, but do we really have any idea of what he will become?

There were all sorts of challenges he had to face and overcome in his first year, so how well can you really assess the type of player he will become?

Yes it's true, Oden's rookie season didn't necessarily "live up to the hype" but the potential was undeniable. He actually had some of the best rebounding percentages in the league and it truly showed when he was able to avoid foul trouble and stay on the floor.

At the moment, Oden is back in Columbus, Ohio, taking summer courses and working out at the University of Ohio State. A lot of Blazers' fans were upset when he elected not to stay in Portland in the offseason and work on his game. What's funny is it just may have been the move that he needed to make to assist him in rediscovering his love for the game.

Greg was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. One of the most touted prospects of the past decade, and his rookie season was delayed by a full year after undergoing micro-fracture surgery.

I always find it funny when journalists and other NBA fans are so quick to write-off Oden and call him a bust. People seem to have forgotten the kid was cleared for full contact only weeks before training camp and hadn't played any sort of basketball for a good 11 months before that.

Numerous articles started to come out about how good Oden was looking in training camp leading up to the season. Some even went as far as saying he would make the all-star team in his first NBA season.

The pressure was building, no doubt. Then the season opener in Los Angeles came and Oden found himself trying to live up to ridiculous expectations, with limited mobility (his knee still healing), all the while playing in a league with far superior talent than the one he came from and thrived in before.

We all knew Oden was out of shape and carrying a few extra pounds, but with all of the pressure he was trying to manage there's no question that it was all taking its toll.

With a full summer for Oden to condition and work on his game, do not be surprised if he is a leading a candidate for the MIP (Most Improved Player) award next season. What hurt Oden the most was his foul trouble, which just might be the only thing that could prevent him from fulfilling his destiny of becoming a great player. To overcome this problem however, you need to identify the root cause of it—lateral movement.

If history has shown us anything, it's that micro-fracture patients take some time to regain the athleticism they once had (Jason Kidd, Amare Stoudemire, Zach Randolph). They do regain it though.

Oden definitely seemed limited by his knee. His vertical leaping ability wasn't what it was in college and his footwork and speed definitely weren't at the level that had scouts drooling in pre-draft workouts.

The big question with Oden this offseason is what he's going to do to improve this offseason. What shape is he going to report to training camp in? He seems to have certain struggles on the court, but the majority of them are directly correlated with his knee. It's healing fine, but with this surgery it's all about being able to trust the repair job.

With the appropriate drills and offseason regimen, Oden will be back. He knows where to be to grab the rebounds and block the shots. Him regaining his legs is going to allow for a new Greg Oden to emerge.

It's going to be an interesting offseason. If Portland can land a point guard upgrade that can set up players around him, that will help his progression that much more. Regardless though, look for a slimmer and livelier Oden to emerge from this offseason. If history is any indication, his legs should finally be coming around and I believe this dominant center will finally have the tools he needs to show what he can really do.

After watching his rookie year come and go, how do you guys feel as fans? Do you think he’s still learning to trust his knee? Do you think with less pressure in his second NBA season it will allow him to relax and just play his game? How do you think next year will go for this once “can’t miss” prospect?

Dwyane Wade's Career Crossroad

Jim Truesdale — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:33:03 -0400

Once upon a time, Dwyane Wade was on top of the NBA.

Solidifying himself as one of the NBA's elite, Wade was named the finals MVP in route to winning the 2006 NBA Championship.

That was the last many NBA fans heard from this once upper-echelon NBA talent. Injuries have riddled this once-glorified star the past few seasons, but his performance in Beijing has basketball fans around the globe thinking the same thing—"Flash is back!"

That's right. Dwyane Wade seems to be well on his way back to being the player that he once was—and possibly even better. It appears he has really regained his hunger, and seems determined to prove all of the fans that wrote him off completely wrong. Wade's establishment of himself as one of the better players on the US Men’s Olympic squad has teams all throughout the Eastern Conference shaking in their boots.

It's no surprise, and it seems almost inevitable that Dwyane is going to have a monstrous year in the '08-09 campaign. All that being said, there's realistically only one thing that can derail this seemingly-destined Hall Of Famer from fulfilling his true potential—injuries.

The way Dwyane consistently attacks the basket with such reckless abandon is undoubtedly the cause of him missing 62 games over the course of the past two seasons. His body breaking down is its way of telling him that it cannot endure that type of punishment 82 times a year.

I for one, am ecstatic about the rejuvenation of D-Wade's game and excited as anyone to see how he performs. But one thing is for certain—his game needs to evolve along with his deteriorating durability.

Wade's body has already proven that it cannot withstand the rigors of his physical style of play. With that being said, look for Wade to really start utilizing his jump-shot to cut down on the punishment his body absorbs—a la Michael Jordan.

Wade possesses some of the same qualities that MJ had, as far as facing his man up and being able to get to the rim at will. Where their games differ is the jump shot.

Jordan had one of—if not the—best mid-Range games of all time, and the man defending him had to respect that. This made it easier for Jordan to drive past his man, or, if he was giving him too much slack, pull up over him. This is a facet of Wade's repertoire that needs drastic improvement, for the sake of extending his career.

It will be interesting to see how his career unfolds. He has much more potential than probably most of us are aware of. He just needs to make the proper adjustments to his game to extend his career.

I write this article not to depict the defects in Wade’s game, but more of an attempt of what I'm hoping materializes. He is at a crossroad in his career and now more than ever it is important that changes aren't implemented immediately to preserve it.

This could very well be determining factor in him becoming the next Michael Jordan, versus the next Jamal Mashburn.