Philadelphia 76ers: 5 Reasons Jerryd Bayless is a Good Signing

Mix of experience and youth

There’s no secret that Bryan Colangelo wanted veterans, and seemed to want to do everything he possibly could to get them. For some fans that were huge believers in the process, youth and high ceilings, that was troubling. Was Colangelo going to trade away all the young and high-potential pieces for old heads?

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Certainly, he hasn’t strayed too far from showing that he would like veterans. Signing Bayless is proof of that. That being said, Bayless has a decent mix of youth and experience, something that will satisfy both him and the “land the plane, Sam” group, and also the process cult.

Bayless comes onto the Sixers roster with eight years of experience, and four years of playoff experience (with about 30 playoff games under his belt). He seems to be the type of person with enough character to be a leader to the team, and he certainly has the years and basketball experience to add to that quality of being a veteran presence.

That being said, he also isn’t too old, he’s definitely no Paul Pierce on this group of young players. He’s older than them, yes, but he’s not so much older that he won’t be able to contribute to the team. He’s arguably not even past his prime.

Last season he averaged 9.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. These may seem a bit low for a player making $10 million a year, but Bayless offers so many veteran off-court qualities to this young and growing roster that I believe it’s worth it.

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