Finestrg wrote:

mreinman wrote:

Finestrg wrote:Anyone else see a little Chauncey Billups with this dude or am I way off?

Similar skill and size around 6'3" 200.. It wasn't until Billups' 7th year in the league (when he got to Detroit) that his career really started taking off. Before that, he was putting up merely passable numbers much like what we've see from Bayless so far. I think usage and the right team/fit means so much. Chauncey finally took off once he found his niche on the right team (and then continued exceling on subsequent teams). All of a sudden he was looked at in a completely different light from everyone--his coaches, his teammates, his opponents around the league... Before that for his first 6 seasons though, he was looked at as sort of a bust if I remember right. I see a similar pattern with Bayless, right down to the potential for much more just like Billups eventually proved. And what it took was a team that saw something in him, saw that he was capable of much more and they managed to extract that talent from him and channel it...Not saying Bayless is guaranteed to become Chauncey Billups, all I'm saying is that sometimes it takes guys awhile to really find the right situation. Took Billups a little while but eventually he was looked at as one of the better lead guards in the league. There's no question Bayless has the talent -- if he didn't, I wouldn't even bother wasting my time making such a comparison. I mean imagine we got this guy for a good price compared to what else'll be out there this summer and finally gave him his own team to run full-time, what that could do for him? That's an experiment/challenge I'd like to see Phil take on right now -- let's see if we could come close to turning Jerryd Bayless into Chauncey Billups. And no disrespect to Billups, he was a damn good player, but look at his career numbers for a sec.: 15.2 ppg, only 41.5% FGs (4.5-10.9), 38.7% from 3, 89.4% FTs (4.3-4.8) 5.4 apg, 1.0 spg. Those are far from HOF numbers--hey who knows, Billups may still make the HOF one day. He was that highly thought of by the end of his career. Those first 6 seasons though--much different story.. I think Bayless, with the talent he has, has a chance to get to that same level or close to it.

it actually clicked in for him his last year with minny but good point about him going from a bad player to a good player in his sixth year. He may be more the exception.

I just think Bayless is way too talented to be nothing more than a backup for someone for the rest of his career. I really believe he could eventually bust out one day. He may just be one of those guys that needs a team that believes in his talent and gives him that lead role. No true hard evidence to backup what I'm saying--just a feeling I get about this guy, you know?

talented dude but no i dont think hes a break out candidate simply cuz hes TOO INJURY PRONE. reminds me more of del harris not billups