Jerryd Bayless had the undivided attention of the New York Knicks. Well, at least the next best thing.
Bayless was one of two players – along with Indiana’s Eric Gordon – to work out in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
“”I think it went really well,”” Bayless told the team’s Web site. “”I shot the ball really well and I think I showed them a little bit of everything that I could do. A couple of the things they were doing were passing drills and defensive slides and dunking the ball, so I think I showed them a little bit of everything.””
Bayless is the second Arizona Wildcat to work out for Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni. Chase Budinger did the same on June 4.
But Bayless, a projected top-5 pick in the NBA draft on June 26, has a slightly better chance of being picked up by the Knicks, who have the No. 6 pick. The workout was Bayless’ second after working out for the Los Angeles Clippers, who have the No. 7 pick and is the current team of former Wildcat Marcus Williams.
New York could be a great home for Bayless, as he’s played there before while in high school – on Rucker Park and for the Jordan Brand Game. He is also fond of D’Antoni, who was an assistant under former Phoenix head coach Frank Johnson, who has served as Bayless’ workout partner and is “”like an uncle”” to him.
D’Antoni’s style of play would also suit Bayless well.
“”The run-and-gun system really lets the players flourish, and I would love to be a part of that if that was possible,”” Bayless said. “”I went to dinner with coach (Monday night). We discussed (his system) and I told him I think I can be a great part of his system if they do decide to take me and it does work out. He said he has all the tools, he just needs an engine to run it, like a Steve Nash. So hopefully, if the situation works out, I can be the engine or the steering wheel to get it going.””