Blazers get to see what they got in Bayless


Thursday, July 10, 2008
By BRIAN HENDRICKSON Columbian Staff Writer

PORTLAND - Nate McMillan has been curious the last few weeks - just like the
Portland Trail Blazers fan base.

Since the Blazers acquired Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless during last month's
NBA Draft, questions about the 19-year-old have been constant.

Could he be the Blazers' answer for their point-guard shortcomings? How
would the explosive scorer fit in to a lineup already bursting with
offensive options?

Ironically, McMillan had many of the same questions.

The Blazers acquired Bayless because he was a dynamic talent with what they
believed was enormous potential. He could score. He could run a team as the
point guard. And he held a versatile collection of skills. But the Blazers
never worked him out prior to the draft, so many of their impressions could
only be gleaned from scouting reports and videos.

But with Portland's summer league practices starting this week, McMillan
will get a chance to examine his new guard up close for the first time. And
he is brimming with curiosity about what he'll discover.

"I want to see it," McMillan said. "I can't sit here and say that he will be
playing the point. That is an area that we hope he can play some. But he may
be a guy who is playing with Brandon (Roy) and he's playing off the ball. So
it's hard to say right now until I get him on the floor. I'm anxious to see
him in summer league."

For now, Blazers officials are looking at Bayless as simply an exceptional
talent without trying to pigeonhole him into a specific role. Blazers
General Manager Kevin Pritchard is not certain that Bayless is a true point
guard, but he envisions a role in which he and Roy can share those
responsibilities. And similar to Roy, Bayless' talent appears versatile
enough to float between both guard positions.

He is an explosive scorer, having averaged 19.7 points as a freshman at
Arizona. And that followed a heralded high school career in Arizona, during
which Bayless held a 28.3-point career scoring average - the highest in
state history. That could make him an effective sidekick for Roy whenever
the Blazers All-Star is moved to point guard, where he often plays during
the fourth quarter.

Yet Bayless insists he is a natural point guard when he describes himself,
explaining that the Wildcats' rash of injuries and need for scoring last
season pushed him to play as a shooting guard.

"My whole life I've played point guard," he said. "This year at Arizona I
had to play off the ball for our team to be successful. And I'm gonna do
what's best for the team. But I know my natural position is point guard, and
I feel most comfortable at that position."

Those statements fuel McMillan's curiosity, and in the next couple weeks the
Blazers coach will being testing the possibilities.

McMillan said he will start by running Bayless through drills to examine his
point-guard skills - drills that McMillan said he would have used during a
pre-draft workout. And when they start play in the Las Vegas Summer League
on Monday, McMillan said Bayless will play equally at point guard and
shooting guard.

But McMillan is careful to not label Bayless either way. Instead he is
keeping his mind open, balancing what he knows Bayless has already achieved
at Arizona, and the potential the Blazers and Bayless perceive in his
talent.

"He feels that he can do even more," McMillan said. "We'll put him in
situations, and I want to see him at the point position this summer and see
where he's at and how comfortable he is there."