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Sonics currently have the second worst record thanks to the Heat squeeking out a win last night.

Worst case scenario come draft time is three teams jump over you.

Ala Portland, Seattle and Atlanta, last year to Boston and Memphis.

So Sonics end up with the fifth pick in the draft would anyone be upset with Jerryd Bayless?

Personally I think the Sonics should try to trade up for Rose.

But I can't say I'd be unhappy with Bayless in the slightest.

I guess this could possibly become the Deron Williams, Chris Paul debate.

Personally I have to say I think this is where the Sonics will end the season at with the second to worst record in the league.

I have a feeling Miami will have a better second half and win a few more games.

Worst Case Sonics will have the 5th pick overall.

Now who do you want with the Suns pick? Brandon Rush?

PG Bayless, Watsnour
SG Brandon Rush?, Kyle Weaver?, West
SF Durant, Green, Wally
PF Wilcox, Green, Collison, Petro
C Collison, Sene, Swift

Rose, Beasley or bust, I say.

Bayless is too much of a scoring guard, Monta Ellis, Arenas-lite type. Mayo has more PG ability but I'm not totally sold on his game. Gordon looks like the second coming of Bobby Jackson (not a bad thing, just not the right fit) and the rest of the high lottery guys are either bad fits or longer-term project players.

Not at all, Bayless is such a baller! I dont get what people are talking about "not wanting him." Would you rather have Luke or Watson?

I don't think he isn't a talented player, but he isn't skilled enough to fit into any system (i.e. a franchise-level player). Rose and Beasely are the only franchise-level guys I see in this draft, and the other players projecting to be high lottery picks don't possess the necessary skill sets to fit in with the current personnel. There's one true point at the top of this draft, and the rest are either combo guards with more SG than PG (Bayless, Mayo) or are purely 2s (Gordon). So, outside of Rose (the true PG) there is only one player skilled enough to be fit into any system, in my opinion, and that is Michael Beasley. Outside of those two players, no one really strikes me as a significant enough upgrade, given the direction this franchise wants to go in (built around Durant/Green).

I really like what I see from Bayless. I hope we do draft him or Rose

If we don't have a shot at Derrick Rose then i wouldn't mind adding Bayless, Gordon or even Mayo.
Though, no one should expect him to resolve our problems at the pg spot, cause he's more of a scoring point guard.

Best case scenarios if Seattle ends up with the #3 pick and just misses out on Rose or Beasley? They trade down of course.

Would the Bucks deal Andrew Bogut and the #9 pick( or there about) for Robert Swift, Delonte West, and the #3 pick? Seattle then gets Bayless AND a good center.

How about Chicago willing to trade Kirk Hinrich and the #11 pick( or close to it) in return for Wilcox and Delonte West plus the #3 pick? Seattle then gets their pointguard( also a team USA member) and has a choice of who to grab with the Bulls pick?

What I'm getting at is that since there is more than one hole, and if they don't have a shot at the only 2 impact players, trading down and getting 2 upgrades might be better than just taking the alternative with a pick that may or may not help them.

But to answer the original question, since I have stated back in December that I like his game alot, then yes, I would be happy with Jerryd Bayless. A shooter, slasher, defender, someone who can get to the rim and draw fouls, a better than average passer, a really good athlete, a decent ball handler, is someone the Sonics can use.

D Rose is the first choice, but if he's gone I have no problem with J Bayless. He kind of reminds me of Kevin Johnson. Anyone else remember KJ? He played some good ball for Pheonix. I just don't think J Bayless is going to drop farther down than 6th or 7th. Great PG's are just too valuable and hard to find.

And B Rush with that Pheonix pick would be great. He take over for W Szczerbiak when he's traded next year.

Those two would be quality additions to the Sonics. Especially considering they come from winning programs in college. That attitude, finding a way to win, is going to be a challenge.

There's a similar thread about the Sonics over on the Blazers board. I agree that Rose would be an ideal guy to land. Hopefully you'd be able to get him at 1 or 2. If I were a Sonics fan I'd be wishing we could land Bayless AND DeAndre Jordan if Rose is out of the picture and Jordan comes out. I know it's a stretch because it would probably require two top 5 or 6 picks and your assets are limited this year. If you were somehow able to land those two, you'd have quite a potential core to build upon.

Just a little Bayless update. Over the weekend the kid put up 39pts.

Check the rest of the team.

C Budinger, 1-12
J Hill, 1-3
J Bayless, 12-18
D Dillon, 0-2
J McClellan, 1-5
F Onobun 0-0
Z Johnson 0-1
K Walters 0-0

The rest of the team went 3 for 23.

To me Bayless reminds me a bit of Billups. When Billups came out of Colorado he was a scoring PG. Now he has changed his game to a distributer who can knock down big shots when needed.

If the Sonics end up with the third or fourth pick and select Bayless I think a guy like Kyle Weaver would look really nice next to him. Because Weaver can handle some of the point guard duties.

So if Bayless is wearing the green and gold come fall, I think fans will need some patience because typically PG don't come in and play like Chris Paul their rookie year.

Getting Bayless would be great, but I'd be more disappointed on losing out on rose.

wiff wrote:To me Bayless reminds me a bit of Billups. When Billups came out of Colorado he was a scoring PG. Now he has changed his game to a distributer who can knock down big shots when needed.

That might be a good comparison, but remember what had to happen before Billups became a stud. He had to bounce around from Boston to Toronto to Denver to Minnesota and was considered a semi-bust for a while before he finally got pulled off the scrap heap and matured in Detroit. That maturation process takes a long time and sometimes doesn't benefit the team that originally drafted the player.

i love bayless, also i would never ever ever draft beasley ever!

Bayless would be great, but I think I'd prefer Gordon as a PG-- depending on where we pick and where guys get slotted as the draft nears. I think Gordon will improve his point skills enough to warrant the move.
I see both guys as excellent scorers who are talented enough make the shift to PG. Gordon would be my first choice and then Bayless if we didn't get Eric.

I think at this point I'd prefer Gordon even if we had the number one pick-- although we should trade into the most appropriate slot for whoever we take...

Actually, I should say I'm debating whether we should take Gordon or Rose IF we had the first pick. I won't know who I prefer until the draft.

DoctorEvil wrote:Bayless would be great, but I think I'd prefer Gordon as a PG-- depending on where we pick and where guys get slotted as the draft nears. I think Gordon will improve his point skills enough to warrant the move.
I see both guys as excellent scorers who are talented enough make the shift to PG. Gordon would be my first choice and then Bayless if we didn't get Eric.

It's the other way around for me, as i think that Gordon is way more of a scorer and that Bayless will be able to play the pg spot in this league.

DoctorEvil wrote:I think at this point I'd prefer Gordon even if we had the number one pick-- although we should trade into the most appropriate slot for whoever we take...

Sorry, but if we get the #1 pick, then there's no way that we'll pass on Derrick Rose.

wiff wrote:
If the Sonics end up with the third or fourth pick and select Bayless I think a guy like Kyle Weaver would look really nice next to him. Because Weaver can handle some of the point guard duties.

I've had the same thought, a SG like Weaver or even Gelabale would probably look pretty good next to Bayless until he developed more PG skills.
On the other hand if the Sonics got Rose the SG would have to be more of a shooter than a distributor, maybe Brandon Rush or Courtney Lee?
I like Eric Gordon, he's an incredibly efficient scorer for the volume of shots he takes but I think his size will be a problem for him in the NBA especially on the defensive end. I would like the Sonics to be a tough defensive team, not just a bunch of scorers. Rose and Bayless have a lot of potential on the defensive end and it would be a lot easier to find SGs that compliment them than a PG that compliments Gordon.

I'm glad you mentioned Gelly and Weaver,I don't see too much of a difference between them. Weaver is a better defender and Gelly is a much better scorer.

whitedolemite wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



I've had the same thought, a SG like Weaver or even Gelabale would probably look pretty good next to Bayless until he developed more PG skills.
On the other hand if the Sonics got Rose the SG would have to be more of a shooter than a distributor, maybe Brandon Rush or Courtney Lee?
I like Eric Gordon, he's an incredibly efficient scorer for the volume of shots he takes but I think his size will be a problem for him in the NBA especially on the defensive end. I would like the Sonics to be a tough defensive team, not just a bunch of scorers. Rose and Bayless have a lot of potential on the defensive end and it would be a lot easier to find SGs that compliment them than a PG that compliments Gordon.

Then Weaver is your man. Defense is the philosophy here with Presti so why not go with Rose and Weaver because you already have your scorer in Durant.

Weaver has been shooting up the various mock draft boards lately and will be gone by the time Seattle uses the Suns pick.

But back to Bayless. I've gone on record way back as liking this guy and think he has a good combination of skills that would make him a worthy pick depending on where Seattle ends up in the draft.

But I also could see Eric Gordon in a Sonics jersey. Bayless has more pointguard skills than Gordon but I have to wonder if Gordon would be a good compliment to Durant. If Seattle eventually settles on Durant at small forward, then a scoring guard like Gordon might make a good tandem as he spreads the floor with teams having to look at doubling him. When that happens Durant can park himself on the opposite side and get one on one matchups, where he can use his height.

I have to wonder if Gordon can play the same role that Monte Ellis does as the guy that brings the ball up the court but also is a main scoring weapon. Or like Gilbert Arenas, who is the scorer yet small forward Caron Butler doesn't suffer because he creates his own shot, the same way Antwain Jamison does.

Do the Sonics really need a pure distributor like a Ridnour?

I think Bayless makes alot of sense. But if they could get a steady, glue type shooting guard like Josh Childress then Gordon wouldn't look bad in a three man set with him, Childress, and Durant.

It looks like the Sonics won't end up with the worst record, but as long as they end up in the top three they have a good shot with the ping pong balls and could get Derrick Rose who obviously would be the #1 choice.

All in all between, Beasley, Rose, Bayless, and Gordon( I shouldn't yet dismiss OJ Mayo either) Seattle should get a good player this June that will help them. Bayless is right in the thick of it as far as I'm concerned. I don't put much stock into the various mock drafts and how fans see how teams will select. As a GM you pick who you feel is best going to help your team. It could be a guy ranked a few spots farther down the list than the conventional order.