Wasn't Straw the better defensive player? Turns out we didn't need more "D" but someone to pick up the offensive slack.. so yep, Von was a good choice!
Morey recently said that before pre season he felt the chances of Wafer making the team were about 1 in a 100. Initially, Von was brought in just as a summer player. What a fortuitious additon to the team.
I liked both players but I thought Von had more upside because of his high releasing jump shot that extended from the 3 point line. The only question I had was his shooting consistency because he could have just been on a hot streak. Strawberry's game seemed more polished but didn't have 3 pt range and that's important for a Yao oriented team. Both had good athleticism and ability to finish. I was actually leaning more towards Strawberry until Von hit those 7 3's.
Let's see who *really* spotted it from the beginning Who do you cut? Strawberry or Wafer Rockets waive Strawberrry, keep Wafer Morey/Les: (urgent) Please Keep both DJ and Von!! Tough cuts!! Strawberry is better than Wafer
I still think we should bring the Straw man in for camp next season. If he plays well we should find a spot for him, Shane won't be around forever.
before you make that decision, maybe you should look up what position Strawberry plays.... hint.....it is NOT the SF(which is the position Battier plays almost exclusively)
Von is good on offense, but his defense is a big hole for Rockets. I saw many times Battier had to help him when Von lost his man.
I remember when I first heard that we had invited him to camp...I thought he was a center lol Then I specifically said during that debate, "isn't it great to worry about two players who won't play a meaningful minute all year?" How things have changed, and I hope so much that we are able to sign him Also I don't think anybody should bash Strawberry. Remember Wafer had about as many NBA points as I had before this year, maybe Strawberry will get his shot.
A replacement for TMac? no way, wafer doesn't whine enough to top TMacy. But we did find a good replacement for things I expected strawberry to do, which is tough defense and attack basket, Lowry GO GO GO!!
I'm not going to lie, I wanted Strawberry more. I loved the way he attacked the basket. Fortunately, I wasn't making the decision... and I don't mean that to bash Strawberry. I'm just happy with the decision the Rockets made.
at the beginning of the year, we didn't know aaron would play this well, therefore was looking for more of a point guard rather than a 2 because we had signed barry to backup mac and artest can slide over to the 2 as well, but now i'm glad we signed wafer. he can ball, and is a good spark off the bench. hopefully, we'll continue to see him get better, but not sure if we can sign him next year but i'm sure morey's not going to just give him away.
DJ is just as talented as Von, and might have been the better player to have before Stacy went down. Since Ron is our 2nd option (when he really needs to be a 3rd or 4th), Von brings much needed offense to the table as opposed to Strawberry. When we get value back for Tracy, or Tracy himself (doubt it), Vons value will decrease DRAMATICALLY. We will need smarter players to go around Yao,[X-player(s)], Ron, Luis. However, If we can get Von on a ChuckWagon type deal, it needs to be done. Hopefully we get a starting PG this offseason. One that is a legit second option that will ease Ron into more of a role player/defender. Ron would be better suited to a 14-15 points a game guy putting in DPOY type work.
I'll also admit I wanted Strawberry over Wafer. I thought a player like Wafer wouldn't be able to really help out in small spurts or in specific situations but that Strawberry's defense and skillset would allow him to be more effective. Boy was I wrong. And Wafer's defense is nowhere near as bad as it was in the preseason. He has really improved that aspect of his game a LOT over the course of the season.
