Hornets on the Internets: Wit Eaassee Edition

As the season starts up, I'm going to try to get back into the swing of posting regular link posts. There's obviously been a lot going on this weekend in terms of personnel moves – the addition of Jerryd Bayless, the subtraction of Curtis Jerrells – and there's plenty more to cover.

First, let's look at some rundowns of Jerryd Bayless. BlazersEdge has to be the first place to go, and Dave posted a great rundown of Bayless's career with the Blazers.

Both sides will now move on, probably happily. Portland can keep one more player, saves some money, creates more minutes and shots for their other guards, avoids a smidgen more discontent, and begins to look in earnest for their next point guard. Bayless gets to play behind Chris Paul but could also play alongside him in a lineup short on proven off-guards. Should Paul get injured again the entire backcourt will belong to Jerryd. That's more opportunity than he would have seen in Portland. In the end, that's what he and his fans were asking for.

More goodness lies behind the jump.

Pro Basketball Talk runs down the scouting report from Synergy Sports: 

According to Synergy Sports, Bayless had a .89 Points Per Possession mark out of the pick and roll last season, just on the cusp of being considered good. He also had a 1.17 PPP out of the spot-up. His ISO numbers were only average last year, with a .81 PPP. But with a more wide-open attack, it's possible Bayless could improve there, given his penchant for getting to the rim.

Here's the bizarre one. Defensively, the result is the exact opposite. Bayless gave up a .89 PPP out of the pick and roll, which is not good. But in ISO, he only gave up a .79 PPP out of the ISO, holding opponents to 34.8% shooting. Color me surprised. So the Hornets are getting a mixed bag, but with Bayless' speed, scoring instincts and polish he's added, as a bench player, he could make a big difference.

Pro Basketball Talk also talks a lot about how Bayless isn't at "pure" point guard, and as such, isn't as valuable as other, more "pure" point guards. When you read about Bayless, you're almost certain to run across this argument. As a rebuttal, I'll link to a great article from Ballhype from a few years ago that argues that combo guards are just as valuable as more "pure" point guards. 

Some more scouting on Jerryd Bayless: his Twitter feed is remarkable in a very understated way. He appears to be a fan of the phrase "wit eaassee." To wit:

"Seattle wit eaassee"

"In Utah wit easeeee..."

"Flyin in the helicopter wit eassseee"

And, really, this is the kicker:

"Buyin a new bag.. My backpack ripped last night wit easse"

I think B-Rex has a new catchphrase.

The Times-Pic reports that the Hornets cut Curtis Jerrells on Sunday:

Despite acquiring him in a trade last week from the San Antonio Spurs, the New Orleans Hornets waived point guard Curtis Jerrells on Sunday.

With his release, the Hornets will not have to send a future second-round pick to the Spurs.

A pretty good deal for the Hornets – it looks like Dell Demps grabbed Jerrells for insurance in case he couldn't nab Bayless, and then was able to release him at no cost to the team.

Finally, the Times-Pic also reported on Chris Paul's knee:

New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul worked in practice Sunday with a brace off over his surgically repaired left knee.

*Snip*

Hornets Coach Monty Williams said Paul was getting used to the brace he'll probably use throughout the regular season.

"We're just trying to stay on top of anything that could be nagging,'' Williams said. "It's such a long season. When a guy is coming off a surgery, you want to be as cautious as you can to keep him from having any setbacks.''

Seems like a good precautionary measure. Chris looked fine in the preseason, so let's hope that his left knee doesn't give him any more trouble this year.