Philadelphia 76ers Agree To 3-Year Deal With Jerryd Bayless

The Philadelphia 76ers have reached an agreement on a three-year deal with veteran guard Jerryd Bayless.

After selecting LSU phenom Ben Simmons with the top overall pick in this year’s draft, the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal with free agent guard Jerryd Bayless, according to The Associated Press’ Jon Krawczynski.

Bayless was the 11th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers and he has played for a total of six teams.

His journey includes stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, and most recently, the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played the last two seasons.

During the course of his career, Bayless has averaged 8.5 points and 2.9 assists per contest. But in his final season with the Bucks, however, those numbers improved to 10.4 points and 3.1 assists per outing. Along with that, Bayless shot a somewhat respectable 42.3 percent from the field.

The main factor that more than likely stood out to the Sixers is his ability to knock down the long ball, as he converted 43.7 percent of his attempts from three-point range last season. In addition to being a capable ball handler, Bayless proved to be effective in playing off the ball as well.

This sentiment is supported by the fact that he excelled in catch-and shoot situations from beyond the arc. In fact, of the players who appeared in at least 50 games last season, Bayless converted nearly 48 percent of his attempts from distance in catch-and shoot situations. Not too shabby to say the least.

Furthermore, Bayless posted an effective field goal percentage of 67 percent on catch-and-shoot jump shots in the half court, which ranked in the top three percent of the NBA.

Simply put, this guy will make opposing teams pay if they leave him open. Along with that, it has been widely discussed that one of Simmons’ best qualities is creating for his teammates, and being that Bayless has proven to be a capable shooter, he and Simmons could potentially create a formidable duo when they’re on the court together.

Even more important, with some of the hefty signings we have seen thus far — Timofey Mozgov (4-Year, $64 million) with the Los Angeles Lakers — Bradley Beal (5-Year, $130 million) to remain with the Washington Wizards and Evan Turner (4-Year, $70 million) with the Portland Trail Blazers — acquiring a veteran guard who can play multiple positions at $9 million per year will prove to be a bargain for the Sixers in both the short- and long-term.

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In other words, this signing is a thumbs up for both sides.