[Fox 26] Rockets to Sign James White through 2009-10

Some key things to think about:

1) The coaching staff which works on player improvement are probably doing nothing as we get closer to playoffs. This gives them something more to do.

2) White won't be wondering what to work on and who he will be playing with. He has the rest of the practices to realize what level he has to be at. He also has the rest of the season and the summer to prepare for a training camp battle.

3) Anyone else would have waited for the summer to give this guy a non-guaranteed. This removes the uncertainty of that and gives the guy a real chance to make a push for a roster spot.

4) It's clear that McGrady won't be ready.

5) Sets a precedent for everyone to work hard this summer, especially Wafer. He needs to prove he's not a dime a dozen. Everyone will be training hard before training camp.


Excellent move Morey. Nice to know you're not just watching games and are thing about everything.

 

Bingo! This roster has much more talent and physical ability than it ever did under JVG. (Yeah I know its old but its true)

 

Probably team option for 2009-10. Like the one we gave to Mike Harris last season.

 

I assume Barry and Deke will come off the roster spot coming next season, who else? How's that affect our FA choices?

 

I think this is what you were talking about.

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And the Houston Rockets pick James White with their number one pick in the 2009 NBA Draft! This is basically the Rockets using White as their first round pick since they don't have one! I don't think they could get a player of his stature that late in the draft anyways. Good signing!

 

every year i wish we could find a time to just have the whole crowd chant

MOR-EY! MOR-EY MOR-EY!!!

 

If anything he's proven to the coaching staff that he's dedicated in practice and is a good practice player against the first team. It's a little bit different for Ron and Shane to be matched up to a short Luther Head in practice then a long rangy James White.

 

If Lebron even enters the contest, I think he'll win regardless of what happens in the actual competition. Who has ever heard of James White outside of Rocket fans and a few guys who watch the high school dunk competition? Its all about marketing and Lebron is probably the most marketable in the world...well arguably. This years contest was clearly staged. Nate with the green jersey? Howard with the lifted goal and phonebooth? Such BS.

But yea, I hope you guys don't get your hopes up this season. He is very inexperienced and prone to learning curve mistakes. We can't afford this right now, we're poised to make some real noise in the playoffs. I'm excited. We have super chemistry, a clear and concise rotation, and White better not sniff the floor unless we're up 20 with 2 minutes to go.

 

Wow . Can you say bye bye to Von Wafer. I don't know what they saw in James White but 1 game and no practices and he gets a contract for this year and next. Hmmmm I think Von is out of here.

McGrady returns next season ( hopefully he is ready )
Ron Artest ( That's if he is resigned )
Shane Battier
Brent Barry ( That's if he doesn't retire )
James White
Von Wafer.

I would say Von Wafer is a goner. McGrady, Artest, and Battier basically hold the wing spots down. Also Rick Aldeman loves to run a back-court with 2 point guards with Brooks and Lowry I don't see no PT for Wafer. With this signing its looking like the Luther Head situation all over again but with Von Wafer. Signing a guy for the rest of this season and next is sending a message.

 

That's the bad news. Unless we're able to dump TMac we're not likely to be able to sign both Artest and Wafer.

I can criticize Wafer all day but we've all heard speculation that he'll probably get an offer that we'll balk at.

And if I were a GM that has a young/scrub team I'd probably take a chance on this guy for 5.5 mil.

But the worst news is White will be replacing Wafer who has replaced TMac very well this year at times. That upsets me.

 

Let's wait until we see what happens in the playoffs to make assumptions on next years contracts. Outside of that, I can't really see us letting Von Wafer go. I forsee a contract similar to Carl Landry.

 

Yeah man Wafer is gone because someone else is going to give him something better to offer like more PT and more money.

Wafer is 23 and if he can finish at the rim better he'd be a solid 2 guard for any team.

 

i wish they could of done this with mike harris too but its great to be rebuilding while still contending

MOREY is SMOOTH

 

I understand what your saying but this signing basically is showing us what to expect for next season. Your saying lets see what happens in the playoffs ok i understand that. After that Ron and Wafer are free agents. We have the rights to offer them a contract first before any team. With McGrady and Yao's contract alone is very hard for us to sign guys. Especially with the owner being cheap and not wanting to pay the luxury tax with the way the economy is now. Which i can't blame him.

Artest is going to want $$$. So McGrady, Yao, and Artest signed what do the offer Wafer. Wafer is young and is going to want money. You say you foresee them offering a contract similar to Landry but I don't. Maybe they will who knows. Some said Landry was young and was after playing time and money. You can say no he wasn't but why did he sign the offer sheet from the Bobcats??. Wafer is young and the way he is playing now he is not going to want to sit behind McGrady, Artest, Battier, and Barry. All of them who plays the same position as him.

 

I was so quick i forgot to add with this signing of James White who could be better than Wafer and is already secured a contract for next season would probably make Wafer a goner. Rockets would show him the door and not resign him.

 

That's exactly it. With Wafer and Artest free agents, Mac injured and Barry always a chance to retire they have at least given themselves one player that will definatly be there that can play that 2 spot who will know the system. I still believe because of the 2010 excitement that we should be able to sign Wafer and Artest to reasonable deals. Only a legit contender would throw decent money at Artest and the only way i see that happening is if Odom goes from LA. Wafer being young you never know but one would hope he would be more inclined to stay with the team that gave him his break.

 

Landry signed the offer sheet so that the stand-off was ended. He wanted more money (full MLE) than Morey would give - so Morey said 'go get it elsewhere'. He couldn't get it elsewhere, so eventually the Bobcats offer was the best that came in.
Houston matched.

As far as Wafer goes:
He's already ahead of Barry in the battle for playing time. And with McGrady slated to be out for the first part of the season, there's certainly some PT to be had there too.
And it's not a guarantee that Artest re-signs here either... So effectively Wafer is looking at being our starting 2 next season if he stays. [I hope Artest re-signs]

I'm not convinced that Von Wafer would become the 'primary wing' on any team - if he's happy playing and living in Houston, then there's every reason for him to re-sign here. Is he a restricted FA in any sort of way?

As far as White goes - he's just a backup depth kind of guy who offers the skill-set that coaching is looking for (a scorer type). Worth a minimum contract to see if he can play at the NBA level - if he can, GREAT - if he can't, nothing lost there. And yes, in a small way it's insurance against Wafer bolting. At least we have a guy who has seen 'the system' and knows the team.

But if the current team lineup is good enough for this year, then I can't see why there's all of a sudden a log-jam next season??

 

Didn't they give the exact same deal to Mike Harris last year? He eventually got cut in favor of Wafer. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we got first dibs on an intriguing player like White. But I'm not getting too excited over someone who might get cut next preseason for someone like Fred Jones.

 

Great news! He can battle Von for a rotation spot next year. Further indication McGrady has played his last game in a rox uni assuming Ron can be resigned.