So then that means you're fine with our SG/SF rotation being manned by Battier, Artest and Wafer. Not just now, but for the next several seasons. Unless you think Battier should be traded.
Nope and you answered your question a couple of times. Other teams are going to look at him like they are doing now. 2nd. He is only 23. The eagerness to get playing time will force him to make a bad choice. Young guys usually don't like sitting on the bench on a contending team. They want to play and prove themselves. Im sure the way Von is playing now he is going to think he has proven himself and will look at a team that will net him playing time instead of sitting behind guys. McGrady, Ron ( assuming he is re-signed ), and Battier basically take up all the mins for the SG/SF spot. Then you have James White ( who i think will be cut ) which whom he would basically have to battle for playing time during training camp and summer league. In his mind being young Von Wafer would probably think he proved himself with the Rockets with McGrady being out that he shouldn't have to battle for a roster and playing time so I think he walks. The Rockets say thanks but no thanks with the offer he is looking for. I'm sure there will be other free agents out there that are 10x better than Wafer that can help us. Artest's contract is coming off the books so that should at least net us a good quality player.
Well, Morey may not as great an advantage as he did with Landry, but I predict the same approach will be used. Morey will make it clear to Von that the Rockets want him back but that they are only interested in paying market value for him. Perhaps they won't lowball him like they did Landry, but I expect Von will test his market value in talks with other teams and then probably hash out a deal with the Rockets. Teams like NY, Atlanta, LAC, etc. are no longer in the business of handing out generous deals to players who will likely never start in the NBA and have a reputation for being journeymen like Von has. DD, I think Von is that latest example of a bench player that you've completely fallen in love with. Fact is, Wafer is going to have a nice career as a hired gun, bouncing around. It's great having him on the team, but he's not going to be a priority signing for any team besides the Rockets, and even that may change according to what their plan for T-Mac is.
Pretty much. I would like to see a longer, athletic defender added if possible but it's not a huge issue. What's wrong with those 3 guys splitting most of the 96 minutes at SG/SF? It's not like they can't pick someone up if they just need another body should one of those guys go down.
I don't think they low balled Landry. Landry basically played half a season for us and by him being so young who is to say that half of season he played wasn't a fluke. Say the Rockets offered him a nice size deal and he doesn't contribute the way he should. That's money wasted on a guy who doesn't live up to his contract. If he is as good as they know or think he is then I believe somewhere down the road they will give him a contract extension. Young players have a habit of once they are getting paid they slack off and lose focus because of the size of their contract.
I've never seen someone pretend to know so much about what a player will or will not do. You call Miss Cleo for that or use your crystal ball?
MLE is overpay 3m ~ 3.5m should be enough Von failed in 3 other teams, probably he only fits rox-type teams well.
Let TMAC go, that'd be win-win. Rox is doing extremely well w/o him and was struggling w/ him. TMAC should go somewhere like LAC to promote ticket selling.
Its obvious. If you don't believe that then please tell me what young player is going to sit behind guys when he knows he can play?? If Landry wasn't a restricted free agent I guarantee you that he wouldn't be here. He signed an offer sheet with the Bobcats. If teams knew that the Rockets wouldn't match the offer I'm sure he would have gotten paid a lot more than what he is getting now
They absolutely lowballed Landry with their initial offer, which he did not agree to. Instead, he sought other offers and got one from the Bobcats that was worth slightly more than what the Rockets offered. Houston matched Charlotte's offer and everyone was happy. Even if Von were to take his chances with another team, there's no guarantee he's going to crack the rotation. Teams interested in bringing in Von Wafer to compete for a spot (he'll be competing for one anywhere he goes) are going to bring in other guys to compete against him, as well. This guy has had one good season and we haven't seen him yet in the playoffs. A lot of teams would probably like to give him a chance but nobody's pinning their hopes on him, including the Rockets, who run a system he excels in. I think to have any leverage against the Rockets in negotiations, Von would have to play out of his mind in the playoffs.
I'm not sure why your moniker is "Hippieloser." Looks like a winning post to me! I can't imagine Von Wafer getting anything close to the MLE, but perhaps somewhere between Chuck and Landry's contracts. Maybe if he blows up during the playoffs and really shines, making a couple of game winning plays, getting a lot of national media buzz (the pseudo-mohawk is loved by the cameras, lol!), perhaps then he could hope to get Landry money or better. That's my opinion, anyway.
I don't think we will see him that much in the playoffs. Coaches usually trim their rotation down and keep guys on the floor that gives him the best chance to win. By playoff time I think we will see more of Barry than Wafer.
I like Von his tenasity and athletism .. in the summer the priority goes to ron first .. personally id love if we sign andre miller hes desprate for a ring he has the best basketball IQ in the league amazing shoot selection and split second descions plus he could be a great mentor to brooks and lowry i dont think anybody considered rafer as a mentor just imagine our bench : battier landry brooks / miller lowry a rockie ( Steph Curry ) (Morey said he is intristeed in buying a pik and most mok drafts expect the suns to draft curry and suns are desprate for some money ) add it up defenitly a championship bench ..
It depends on matchups. If we are going against a team with a bunch of athletic wings, Von will get his chance. I see it playing out that Von will be given a chance first in the playoffs but Adelman will have an even shorter leash on Von and won't hesitate to yank him when he gets out of control, makes bad decisions with the ball, and loses track of his man too much on D. That last part is the most oversighted mental mistake that Von does, he gets caught looking at the ball too much and loses track of his man who invariably gets the ball and makes other Rockets players scramble to cover Von's guy which puts the whole D in a more vulnerable position. It's simple basketball fundamentals 101 like that which makes me leery of Von when he's on the floor.
That's why I said I would think we will see Barry more than Wafer because we basically signed Barry for this reason. Playoff experience
^^^^ thats definetly true i still rember how wafer and lowery costed us the game against utah both insiting to pentrate every time they get the ball. yes wafer minutes will drop but not the much he still unfortunetly our main man of the bench scoring wise
haven't read the thread. but mle is crazy for a bench player. wafer can't our starter. if he is next year, our team will not be very good. up to 3 mils a year for maybe 4 years sounds about right. i personally think a 2.5 per 4 yrs contract is pretty reasonable. that's a total of 10 mils.
Funny you should mention White's lateral quickness and first step but I had my doubts about them. I haven't seen him play many minutes but I said to myself he looks slow and I thought that was incongruent with someone that has the atheticism to win a slam dunk championship. I hope we're able to sign Wafer but he is getting a rep around the league so I think he'll get some offers in the off-season. Anybody know who is agent is?
What's frustrating is that Wafer has all the physical tools to be an excellent defender. That he's at the level he is now after 3 years in the league (and his 4th team) doesn't give me great confidence that he'll improve in that area as much as we'd all want. So much of defense is what you have upstairs. Von Wafer is still wandering in the hallways, looking for the staircase.
