Earlier when Cobra and I were emailing back and forth, the subject of Brandon Rush's playing time came up.  I told him what I had read in the paper and what I had heard Jim O'Brien say about the rookie situation on the team.  I also told him about how Stephen Graham has been stealing his spot in the main rotation.  I told him that I wondered how this team would be with Jerryd Bayless as the backup point guard instead of Jarrett Jack.

So, I've been sitting here most of the afternoon thinking about the trade on draft night that sent Bayless (11th pick) and Ike Diogu to Portland for Brandon Rush (13th pick) and Jarrett Jack.  I know that a few people can attest to my displeasure with the trade when it was announced.  I was 10 seconds away from ordering my new Pacers' Bayless jersey when that happened!  Talk about below the belt.

If Bayless had not been traded to Portland here is what the team would look like right now:

PG - Ford, Bayless

SG - Dunleavy, Daniels

SF - Granger, Graham

PF - Murphy, Foster

C - Nesterovic, Hibbert

On the season Bayless is only playing 8.5 minutes a game and his averages aren't very good, but how good can they be in limited playing time?  With him as Ford's backup, he would have been able to see the proper ways to run an NBA in this style of offense.  Then, in a year or two, JOB could have easily handed him the keys to the car.

This would have allowed the Pacers to go after some wing players in future drafts since they would have already had their PG and C in place.  Guys like James Harden and Chase Budinger would be available in this next draft and could have helped on the wing with their athleticism.  Not to say that Rush isn't athletic, but he isn't as athletic as either of those two players.

In the end, I think the results for the team would be about the same this season, but I think the team might have been better off in the long run.