How Will Bayless Fit in Portland?

In reviewing the NBA prospects of former Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless, I feel like I’m going beyond my beat. Bayless was technically a Wildcat for one year, but his stint in Tucson always appeared transitory- Bayless seemed to be sitting on the UofA bus stop, waiting for the 12:30 NBA Line to come by and take him on the rest of his route.

After one season spent playing out of position and largely without the mentoring hand of Lute Olson, Bayless finally got on the bus, with Portland Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard slowing down and opening the door to let him on.

Okay, technically Bayless was picked by the Indiana Pacers. But it was the Blazers that ended up with him, spending the first round of the draft creating a dizzying number of complex trades in order to end up with Bayless. I wasn’t paying attention too closely, but I believe that at one point the Blazers dealt backup point guard Jarret Jack’s torso to Indiana and his arms to Houston, along with a third-round pick.

After only three years as the Blazers’ GM, Pritchard has gotten a reputation as a draft day wheeler-dealer, possibly because he’s a savvy basketball man always angling for a better, younger team, or possibly as a way of coping with a horrible gambling addiction. All I know is, I’d hate to play Monopoly with the man.

But in all seriousness, Pritchard seemed to be focused on making the 2008-2009 season a major growth year for Portland. And what better year to focus on growth than the year you have five draft picks in the first two rounds and have just finished out a disappointing 41-40 season?

And Pritchard seems to know that the key to successful player growth is to give young players mentors to train and compete with. In this regard, Bayless is an excellent choice.

After spending most of his single Arizona season out of position at the two-spot, Bayless has a reputation as a high-scoring point guard. In Portland, he’ll have the opportunity to learn the position better under team leader Brandon Roy, who led the team in scoring and assists last year.

Portland was not one of the five teams Bayless worked out for, and he has yet to tell anyone how he feels about likely spending the next year behind Roy, Steve Blake, and Spanish League superstar Rudy Fernandez, who the Blazers signed earlier today.

Bayless continues to reiterate that he sees himself as a point guard, and seemed confident in his ability to quarterback an NBA team. “Telling a 36-year-old man where to go is going to be kind of difficult at first,” said Bayless in an interview last Monday, “but I think I’ll be able to adapt to it.”

The trade winds probably haven’t settled around Portland yet, and there’s a chance Bayless could go somewhere else, despite the lengths the Blazers went to get him. But as long as he works hard (which he will do) and doesn’t get impatient sharing the guard spot so much (which he might do), he stands to make major strides as a player in Portland.

Photo by AZStarNet and ESPN