Bayless!

[mojomarc]

Seriously--he's a great fit.

1) He can really shoot the outside shot, which means he can space the floor well for Oden and Aldridge.

2) He can really run the fast break, which is really important given that we want to push the tempo this coming season.

3) He is a good defender, particularly in his footwork, which means he will be very effective in channeling players to the right place for Oden and Aldridge to help.

4) He is an excellent slasher and he really can finish at the rim, something no one other an Roy can do on our team.

5) Huge basketball IQ and court awareness.

6) He might not be a dominant assist man, but he is very good at distributing and he isn't afraid to give up the ball to a teammate who has a better shot. Unselfishness is definitely a characteristic of Bayless' play.

7) He has very good size for a PG.

8) He is a very good dribbler.

9) He is one of the best players I saw all year at being able to pull up from mid-range of the dribble and drain it, and with his elevation he can get it off against anyone.

This basically describes a less selfish, better distributing version of Monta Ellis. So how exactly is he a poor fit for us?

His biggest issue is that he's not a great slow-tempo PG in the half court, but we don't need him to do that because we can hand the ball to Roy for that purpose. I honestly can't think of a better complimentary PG for Roy than Bayless if he fulfills his potential.

[TradeMachine]

He's a good fit because he adds a new facet to our game, and his deficiencies are covered by Roy. There are very few teams that he can actually fit with (which might have been a reason he dropped so much), and Portland's one of them.