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Jerryd Bayless Is Finally Home
Usually when a team drafts a player generally considered to have All-Star potential, they hold onto that young man, but Toronto's Jerryd Bayless has played for three teams in his two-and-a-half year career. That's not easy for any player, let alone one trying to find his place in the league. That's hard enough to do when you're given an opportunity to play and succeed from Day 1, but Bayless has had to wait for his opportunity.
Thankfully for Bayless, it seems as though that opportunity has finally arrived with the Raptors.
"This is just a great situation from the standpoint that it's a younger team and a team that's still growing," Bayless said. "I've been in situations before where teams were already settled and I was just kind of thrown out there. This is something where I can grow, and hopefully it works out."
In his first 24 games with Toronto, Bayless is averaging career highs in points (9.8ppg) and assists (3.9apg), while playing over 20 minutes a night for the first time in his NBA life. The Raptors are struggling to rebuild, which is awful for the team's record, but great for a group of young players that need floor time in order to get better.
"The losing is the toughest part about it," Bayless added. "You look around the league at some of the other teams that have had to go through something similar, like an Oklahoma City or a Portland… It's something that you just have to push through and keep the positive thinking."
The Raps currently have the fourth-worst record in the Eastern conference, but that's not because they've fallen short of expectations; it's simply because they're a work in progress.
"It's just the learning aspect of it. It's something everybody has to go through," Bayless said. "You might not come out with a positive result at first, but it always hopefully ends up turning around later, and I think it will here."
As for what he and the rest of his team hope to accomplish for the rest of this season, they don't seem to believe that they're totally out of the playoff picture yet.
"I don't think this season is over by any stretch. We could easily go on a five or six game winning streak and things could turn around and start looking bright. We've just got to keep working and getting better every day. If we can do that, anything can happen."
Usually when a team drafts a player generally considered to have All-Star potential, they hold onto that young man, but Toronto's Jerryd Bayless has played for three teams in his two-and-a-half year career. That's not easy for any player, let alone one trying to find his place in the league. That's hard enough to do when you're given an opportunity to play and succeed from Day 1, but Bayless has had to wait for his opportunity.
Thankfully for Bayless, it seems as though that opportunity has finally arrived with the Raptors.
"This is just a great situation from the standpoint that it's a younger team and a team that's still growing," Bayless said. "I've been in situations before where teams were already settled and I was just kind of thrown out there. This is something where I can grow, and hopefully it works out."
In his first 24 games with Toronto, Bayless is averaging career highs in points (9.8ppg) and assists (3.9apg), while playing over 20 minutes a night for the first time in his NBA life. The Raptors are struggling to rebuild, which is awful for the team's record, but great for a group of young players that need floor time in order to get better.
"The losing is the toughest part about it," Bayless added. "You look around the league at some of the other teams that have had to go through something similar, like an Oklahoma City or a Portland… It's something that you just have to push through and keep the positive thinking."
The Raps currently have the fourth-worst record in the Eastern conference, but that's not because they've fallen short of expectations; it's simply because they're a work in progress.
"It's just the learning aspect of it. It's something everybody has to go through," Bayless said. "You might not come out with a positive result at first, but it always hopefully ends up turning around later, and I think it will here."
As for what he and the rest of his team hope to accomplish for the rest of this season, they don't seem to believe that they're totally out of the playoff picture yet.
"I don't think this season is over by any stretch. We could easily go on a five or six game winning streak and things could turn around and start looking bright. We've just got to keep working and getting better every day. If we can do that, anything can happen."
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