--C Greg Oden is in Team USA's mini-camp this week at Las Vegas, hoping to show his offseason workouts have resulted in improvement of the play of the 7-foot center who was inconsistent as a rookie last season.
"We want to see progress," general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "We'd like for him to play well so he can get some confidence and feel good about the work he has put in." --G Jerryd Bayless pronounced himself ready to be a backup point guard next season after running the Blazers' entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.
"Yeah, no question," said Bayless, a kind of hybrid guard who is trying to turn himself into a true point guard in the NBA. "I know what I can do. I've always been confident in myself. Just give me the opportunity in the right situation and I'm going to prove it."
Bayless was second on the Blazers' summer league entry in scoring at 18 points a game, shooting .472 from the field, while dishing out 4.3 assists. But he also averaged 6.3 turnovers in the four games he played.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "They're going to see a guy who can dominate on the court and change games. They drafted me for a reason, and I want to show them why they drafted me." -- Greg Oden, vowing to make more of a difference for the Trail Blazers next season.
