i hope this year jermaine taylor can be a smaller version of dwane wade like he claims, wafer wasn't anything special, how many more years is this gona drag its not like he was michael jordan.
I'm not sure any of them will make the team, maybe Smith since the Rockets need a 3rd point guard. The Rockets have good depth. Budinger, Lee and Lowry could all be starters on another team and once Patterson develops, he could be the next Landry. Brooks/ Lowry Martin/ Lee Battier/ Budinger Scola/ Hayes/ Patterson Yao/ Miller/ Hill Taylor, Jeffries, maybe Smith?
Are you kidding? Monta Ellis, Louis Williamns, Ryan Gomes were all drafted after Wafer and did much better and had a bigger impact than Wafer. Sure, Budinger doesn't even come close to Wafer, because he's so much better than Wafer. He has the ability to rebound, pass, defend and play within a team concept which Wafer the black-hole can only dream of. As good as Wafer played, he had a +0.2 impact with 31% total playing time, while Budinger had a +0.6 with 37% total playing time. If anything, Budinger was a bigger key for Rockets to have a winning record last year.
Who cares about Von Wafer. Why would I want anyone to be like him? To be a ball stopper, ball hogger, bad IQ and cries to the coach when he gets pulled out in a big playoff game? Comon now, just because he hit a few shot and threw down a couple of dunks is not enough to keep bringing him up. Its better to have a player NOT like Von Wafer. Chase Bud is a better example. He's a better shooter, more athletic, higher IQ, and a better team player.
I agree completely. ...and I think it's worth noting we were a considerably shallower team back then than we are now. Wafer surprised a lot of people because they weren't expecting much but let's not get carried away. There is a reason he hasn't stuck on a roster and I'm not even so sure he is on a NBA roster for next year. Basically what I'm trying to say is if we are looking forward to the next surprising player like Von then that's a surely a sign that our season is in the toilet as it would mean several very good(but known quality) players are injured and we are at the bottom of our depth. Maybe guys like Cbud don't surprise you, but he will have a far longer career as an rotation NBA player than Wafer and guys like him. ...why can't people pick former Rockets who were actually not bad to harp over? There must be 50 Von Wafer references to every one Kelenna Azabukie reference and Kelenna is a far better player.
Wafer was a rotation player for a team that lost out on the 2-seed on the last game of the season. There is no way Budinger could have done that last year.
wtf? this thread isnt about von wafer. Its about who you think can make the team and surprise us this season. i used von as an example because he did exactly that. so to all you people complaing about another wafer thread, this is not one.
j taylor, i think he can come off the bench hog the ball not pass and make some very exciting plays. except maybe from behind the arc.
If rick gives JT serious pt like i think he might earn this year, I think he can really make an impact. It's just kinda hard to see who's minutes he's gonna take. I think he is an aggressive offensive player and an athletic defensive player that puts forth competitive effort...(see his start against the Kobe and what Kobe said about him as a player). If he can grow and learn to score within the flow of the Rockets' offense he can be an effective slasher. He can get to the rim with ease, but he does need to work on his mid-range pull up jump shot.
I like Antonio Anderson as a player, he might be able to make the team if he plays well but I highly doubt he'll contribute like Wafer did in the season. Someone already on the roster that could potentially fit that role is Jermaine Taylor.
No one can replace a von wafer type... he was one of a kind. i really liked this kid. wish he got along with RA... he was becoming my fav. rocket since Maxwell.... I miss that guy
If it was "Who can be this years Carl LANDRY?" it'd be OOOOH my favorite Rocket EVERRRR, I miss him please sign him back Unless you specifically say "based on surprise performance" (which is how you meant it), I don't think the personal feelings can be separated from a player. If you say who's the next Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, all of them will get some kind of negative snappy response of next "dribble off his foot", "McLazy", "injury prone cash cow". I think Alexander Johnson is a longshot to make the team. But then I said DJ Strawberry shoulda been on the team over Von Wafer, so lets see how it plays out.
Yessir, well said. If Von would have replace Chase last season, the Rockets would have a losing record. Chase is a much better overall player. He's longer, just as athletic if not more, smarter player, and overall, higher potential.
