By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
After an unexpectedly quiet start to the free agency period, the Philadelphia 76ers finally grabbed the veteran guard Bryan Colangelo coveted midway through the afternoon Friday.
AP Source: 76ers agree to terms with Jerryd Bayless on 3 year, $27M deal
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 1, 2016
Bayless was always a name thrown out there as a possibility for the Sixers due to his connection with Colangelo from their Toronto days. In terms of the contract, 3 years for $27M is very reasonable in today’s cap environment. He only turns 28 years old in August, so the Sixers aren’t getting a guy who will be losing a step through the life of the deal.
Bayless will start at the point guard position this season. Following (one would suppose) the Sixers grabbing their point guard of the future with one of their (expected) 2 lottery picks in the 2017 draft, Bayless can shift to a backup combo guard role; $9M per year is still fine for a player in that position.
On the court, Bayless fits very well with Ben Simmons. He’s coming off an excellent 43.7% from three season with Milwaukee, and has shot 36.5% from behind the arc over his career. His experience at both guard positions makes it easy for him to slide off the ball in those situations where Ben Simmons is running the show offensively. Defensively, Bayless has decent size at 6’3″, although he has always been a subpar defender throughout his career.
Given the thin point guard market, the Sixers couldn’t have obtained a much better option at an affordable price. Ideally, I would have liked it to be a 2-year deal, but if that’s what it took to have Bayless to join what was a 10-win team last season, so be it.
Grade for Colangelo: A
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