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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Free agent Jerryd Bayless signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in large part because of Jason Kidd.
The 6-foot-3 guard played for Memphis and Boston last season, averaging 9.3 points in 72 games. Now he gets a chance to play for Kidd, who left the Brooklyn Nets this summer to coach the Bucks.
"The thing that was most intriguing was Kidd," Bayless said Thursday at the Bucks' training facility. "He can help me in a variety of different ways. There aren't a lot of guys like him that come around."
General manager John Hammond announced the deal Thursday. Bayless signed for two years at $3 million per season.
Kidd, one of the NBA's great point guards, spent 19 seasons in the league. He is beginning his second year as an NBA coach. Bayless calls him a "once-in-a-generation" player.
"He's a young coach, but he's been in the league a long time," Bayless said.
Bayless was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 11th pick in the 2008 draft. He was traded to Portland before his rookie season. Only 25 but entering his seventh NBA season, Bayless joins a team that has three teenagers on its roster.
"Even though I'm younger I've been through a lot in this league and I'll try to teach these guys the right way to do things," Bayless said.
Bayless played one season in college. At Arizona in 2007-08 he became the first freshman in school history to lead the team in both scoring (19.7 points) and assists (4.0).
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