"What we didn't expect was there would be very little dialogue about the players they had on their roster who helped them get out of the first round. It was a little bit weird to us. We saw the Ron Artest situation unfold and then turn their attention to a wing player and forget about the center position and not even address Von Wafer. It was quite disappointing." Artest eventually agreed to terms with the Lakers, while the Rockets reached a contract agreement with free agent forward Trevor Ariza. "I thought that Von had laid his heart and soul out for the Rockets," Butler said. "He played with a lot of passion and a lot of energy. I thought it became contagious with the team through his play in January, and the team fed off of that and got on the right track and put together a great winning streak. I almost feel like he was some kind of adhesive for their group." Now I agree with him here Wafer and Artest did bring an attitude to the team, But I would see can see him not being signed just because of his agents mouth.I hope these agent learn how to shut up
At least he got it right: Wafer's "passion to play" is what caused his meltdown. Not "passion to help his team win." The kid just didn't like being yanked after missing a couple of shots. In other words, he was thinking about Von-Von. Hasta la vista, Vohawk. It was fun while it lasted. I'm glad you got a chance to establish yourself. Now take your poor shot selection and questionable attitude elsewhere.
With Yao Tmac and Artest out of the picture, Von would be our 3rd highest scorer returning from last year (not to mention younger than #1 and #2), and we're basically telling him to **** off?
If they just offered him a minimum deal, that is quite pathetic on the ROcket's part. The Rocket's have missed a confident, wing player who was capable of knocking down the 3 AND driving to the basket. He was a big part of this team's success this season. WHen his card was called upon, he always showed up and gave it his all. Good luck with your new team Von, it's the Rocket's loss.
Travis Heath from hoopsworld saidon his chat today that Von will most likely return to the Rockets. How is that possible if we used all of the MLE?
Hoopsworld? Come on now? Now do you see why they are a banned site here? They report false information. Unless Von takes the minimum, hes not coming back here. Reguardless, I dont think hes coming back here period.
It seems Rockets just offered Wafer a minimum contract (under $800k/year), which IMO, really is an insult to Wafer's ability even though I don't care if he comes back or not... It's like having a $10 lunch and giving a $0.25 tip, if Rockets is being this cheap, it's better for them to not "tip" at all..
Hah, what do you want them to do!? They spent all their money, and obviously thought Ariza was worth Von and his lunch money. Cant buy that $10 lunch if you got no money!
what is a $10 lunch in the NBA world? The Rockets are offering Von whatever they can afford at this point because that's all they can offer at this point. Von can turn that offer down, but what if that's the only offer he gets? Beggars can't be choosers...
Isn't it pretty clear that Morey offered Gortat less than the MLE in order to save a portion of it for Wafer?
Not really. What source are you basing that assumption on? Von is a ball stopper and has a bad handle. Also, his antics in game 2 of the lakers series showed his true colors. I'd rather give our new draft picks or James White a shot this year.
Like I said, I don't even care if Wafer comes back or not, but with the kind of hype and stats Wafer generate last season, it's fair to expect Wafer worths about $2 Mil per year. If the team really wants to keep Wafer, they would plan ahead and even consider to go over the luxury tax. Plus, it's very hard to defend with "the team has no money" when Leslie spend $6 mil to buy three picks on some unproven players. To me, all these translate into that the Rockets doesn't care much about Wafer, so why bother to low ball/insult him?...
Yes. But he doesn't have to expect it from the Rockets. Ron Artest didn't expect a 1-year deal either, but that's what Morey offered him. It's what happens when you no longer care to compete and is looking at the future. I'm sure he's saving it for either being under the luxury tax this year, or a FA next year.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/nba/090703_wafer_rockets_return In other news his agent sounds like a douche.The opportunity the Rockets gave him was a priviledge. They're not obligated to offer him another contract.
The thing I liked about Von was he was not afraid to come in and take the shots when the offense was struggling. So many players seem to shy away from that. He hit some big shots, had some big games and I appreciate that. But how many times did I just see him stand in one place and several players yell at him to move to a certain spot? Almost every night. How many times did I see him miss defensive assignments or not make the effort at all? To many. I loved his passion, but was it for him or the team? You would think that a guy that bounced around as much as he did, and knows first hand how tough it is to make it and stick in this league, that he would have just stayed quiet and worked hard. He would probably have been signed if that was the case. I think he had some success and it went to his head some. Good luck Von thanks for the memories but I hope you learned something.
