Philadelphia 76ers: Jerryd Bayless will be a key piece off the bench

As we look ahead to the 2017-2018 NBA regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers may have a huge scoring threat in veteran Jerryd Bayless.

When you think about the Philadelphia 76ers bench, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Dario Saric? Yeah, probably. Richaun Holmes? Plausible. T.J. McConnell? Well, now you’re talking! But, let’s not talk about them. Actually, someone who hasn’t gotten much love until fairly recently is a guy who barely played last season: Jerryd Bayless.

Now, Bayless has definitely had himself an interesting career. Over nine seasons, he’s played for seven teams. During that span, he was traded four times. The man puts the journey in journeyman. Anyway, his journey led him to Philadelphia, where his season did not last long.

Bayless spent the vast majority of last season recovering from wrist surgery. Unfortunately, he only played a total of three games for the Sixers. But, the good news is that he played fairly well in that span. In said games, Bayless averaged 11.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Yeah, the sample size doesn’t say much, but it’s better than nothing.

Nevertheless, Jerryd Bayless has the tools to contribute big off the bench. Now, don’t expect him to provide much on defense. He doesn’t have much of a defensive side to him. Quite frankly, that’s not his style. He puts up numbers on the offensive end of the floor.

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Over his career, Bayless made a name for himself with his scoring ability. Particularly, his ability to shoot the three has made him a quality role player. In terms of his shooting, Bayless averaged 36.6 percent from three over the course of his career. Now, that’s slightly above average, but don’t let that fool you. He has shot over 40 percent a few times in his career.

In fact, head coach Brett Brown believes Jerryd Bayless has the tools to be a “lightning in a bottle” offensive player for the Sixers. Now, that likely means that Bayless will be one of the first players in off the bench. This could mean some opportunities to play alongside Ben Simmons *insert eye emojis*. Just imagine Simmons driving and kicking the ball out to Bayless in the corner for a wide-open three. Man, that would be something.

Not to mention, Jerryd Bayless will likely play a ton of minutes with Dario Saric. Since Saric will likely spend a lot of time as the primary ballhandler off the bench, Bayless could alleviate some of that workload offensively. This would maximize Saric’s ability without overworking him. It’s a win-win.

Okay, so we know that he will likely excel offensively, but where else can Jerryd Bayless contribute. Well, given the influx of veterans of this roster over free agency, maybe he can lead off the bench. Now, the team already has Amir Johnson for that, but Bayless has been with the team for a year now. Because of this, one would hope that he has already established relationships with the young core.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers: How should we gauge Joel Embiid’s season?

Ultimately, Jerryd Bayless could provide a ton of knowledge through his vast experience in the NBA. For a guy who has played for contenders as well as duds, he has stayed true to himself. With that in mind, plus his offensive ability, one would hope that Bayless can provide a helping hand to this young Philadelphia 76ers core.