"I was McGrady Back Home"

Try to limit your postings to one account, Old Man Rock.

 

just because they didn't do well doesn't mean he ruined them. maybe they just sucked? and how was Turkan Van Gundy's fault anyways, even if he was good. He played 7 games with the Knicks and was cut. He played maybe 10 games for the Bucks and went back to Europe. I'm sure there is a reason why Lampe fell to the second round, was traded to the Suns, then the Hornets, and finally to the Rockets so that they could get rid of Moochie Norris. Nachbar's getting minutes now. He's nothing special. He's 6-9 and is shooting under 40% from the field. Any anyways he started his career under Rudy T. Rudy T didn't see any reason to give him minutes his first year.

I love it how if players fail it means that their coach ruined them. It's like saying Ryan Bowen failed because JVG didn't do a good job with him or some **** like that.

 

The Rockets (JVG and CD) are being very professional now and handling the matter very well in the media. VSpan whined, but I think we're making it a bigger deal than it is. He obviously feels mislead, and to be honest, he probably was. Seriously, CD wouldn't say: "Hey Vasilis, how about coming over here this year and sitting as our 12th man all year, get ripped by the coach, being used sparingly as our 2 guard, and get passed over even if we go through injuries? How about it? You want to come over?" Again, I doubt CD guaranteed 20mpg or playing time or whatever, but of course CD was over there stroking VSpan's ego saying how much the Rockets wanted him etc etc.

I'm just disappointed at the total waste of the MLE this past year by the Rockets. For goodness sakes, why don't just give the damn trade kicker, a potential $1.5 million in realistic terms, or realistically nothing at all!!!! Jeebus. If it wasn't for Bonzi and his agent miscommunication (total luck out for the Rockets), it would have been the most inept summer. And the Snyder deal was great, but a total luck out by the Rockets again because Byron Scott and the Hornets hated his work ethic and gave up on him. We picked Snyder up for trash because they didn't want him.

So, at least to this point in time, the Rockets Management deserves a big fat F for the summer deals. Hopefully that will change with time. CD still believes in VSpan's future, so I hope that eventually he'll develop into something good.

And as for all the speculation about CD vs JVG. This much is true: JVG was not over there recruiting VSpan this summer. That was CD. JVG tells it like it is about earning playing time, working hard, and doing things the way he feels is best for the team. It is fact that CD was really happy about getting VSpan and JVG was more realistic. I'm not saying JVG hates VSpan, but their two views are not exactly the same. Does that make it a problem? No. Management doesn't have to be 100% on the same page on every page as the coach. So using the words "rift" and "power struggle" would be going too far with the speculation in my opinion. However, it is absolutely fact that CD's and JVG's opinions are not 100% in line with each other. That's not bad, but that's just the way it is.

 

I think you proved NIKEstrad's point. He was being sarcastic.

 

Don't overlook that Spanoulis openly criticized the coach and front office. Sure its almost an expected thing for a player to be dissatisfied being at the end of the bench. He could have just said "I believe I deserve a chance" or left it at "It's not working out, I'll consider my options", something a FIRST YEAR player should do.

Saying the coach "doesn't know the player I am" (what some people are siding him on), coach and front office have a lack of communication with each other and that they are playing "ego games" (hehe) will generally, just as much as turnovers and shooting bricks, get a player right into the doghouse. I don't expect to see him in anytime soon now.

 

anyone else find this exchange hilarious?

I think spanoulis needs to chill out and wait his turn. he was a good player in greece but his path right now is not worse than most second round picks or other european players. his time to shine will come but like his cult-fans on here he's too impatient.

 

I too wish they would have given it. Mike James taking the shots rafer is bricking nightly, yeah I remember why I wanted him back. But they have to find another player in the james/fisher mold and hopefully by february.

This summer I was imagining Yao-Tracy with battier and james taking the open shots off double teams and salivating. I hope they can find a pg like that by the deadline because i'm sick of alston's god awful shooting inside the 3 pt line.

 

It's the truth and he is only speaking bits of it and he only speaks bits of it because he wants out. Unlike JVG who is trying to manipulate the story to make Billy look bad.

Have you ever said something to someone that you know they understood but then they take it out of context to make you look bad. And they run and tell everyone they can to make you look bad. "Can you believe what he said!" Well that's what JVG did. He took a statement that Billy said out of context. And made it public to try and make him look bad. Vasillis said in his less than perfect english he did what McGrady did in europe... He drove and created for others he found the open man. He didn't say he was as good as McGrady or even close only that his game was a creator and not a spotup shooter.

For him to do that I don't get how people can say it's immature. It's the exact opposite... JVG is trying to make him something he is not and as he said he didn't think JVG understood what kind of player he is so he went up to the coach and said coach this what I am good at. And the coach could have heard him and said Billy I hear you and let's try to make a compromise this way or Billy I hear you but I see your best contribution to this team is as a spot up shooter (which by the way if he said that he is an idiot) but he didn't say that he just ran to media and sad " the Kid thinks he was Mcgrady back home", "Well wake up kid McGrady is McGrady here". That's a ****ing knife in the back. And JVG is the backstabbing b****.

Oh and as for as the statement Basketball is basketball" he didn't say it an arrogant way but more of "I know I have a lot to learn but I have confidence I can.

Something else about JVG, I have always felt JVG was a manipulative tyrant. Before he came onboard I had read stories of how he politicked to get Grunfield out. And rumors how he had special players on his team and if you were not one of them he treated less than. I also had seen what he did when Francis missed the flight. Not to say that Francis wasn't wrong but why air out your dirty laundry in public. What purpose does it serve. I mean have you every seen a Rocket coach that had soe many personnel conflicts. From Francis to MoT to lying to Jim Jackson to throwing MoT and Swift in the doghouse and last year reporting of him having it out with CD and even constantly screaming and belittling Yao on the sidelines up until this year. And in the preseason calling Yao's shoe company out when Yao continually said there was no problem with the shoe. Yeah again there were many ways to handle that outside of the media. And earlier lying to the fans that there was a problem with Bonzi's being in shape when in truth it was more about a fight between them. And now it's VSPAN and he's running to the media saying, "I think he's allowed his disappointment to go to discouragement, which has, at times, stunted his improvement." No Van DICK you have stunted his improvement. But the truth is you haven't his assist to TO ratio is better his passing is still very good and he still plays solid D and drives to the basket better than any PG on the team and the only thing stopping him from proving is you Jeff Van Poopy.

 

Yeah and how many times did you hear Rudy air it out to the Media. Maxwell tried to deck Rudy because Drexler was taking his minutes but you never heard that from Rudy. Just chalk it up as different styles. Rudy believed in handling things behind closed doors and JVG likes to squeal like a pig.

 

Yeah he's squealing like a pig.... I forgot that it wasn't V-Span who starting b****ing first to the media...

 

I can understand V Span getting frustrated but he needs to grow up and work hard to overcome his poor shooting,turnovers,and fouls. When he can do that he will get minutes.

 

Basically, Vspan is a natural PG, and a good one at that .. all the things he likes to do on the court (passing, pressing, creating shots) are all attributes a PG should have. But JVG wants him to be a SG for some reason, even though we are already stacked at the SG position.

Frankly, I'm quite puzzled. 10 mins a game for Vspan at the PG certainly won't hurt.

 

it's obvious that spanoulis and the rockets won't work out. the guy doesn't get anything and still wonders why he doesn't play?

he was mcgrady back in europe? when you read this board you could believe this is true. reality is it isn't. he was a good player but certainly not considered the best. by many he wasn't even considered as one of the best. even on his own team he sometimes was a backup player.

i'd suggest he works on his shot, his turnovers and his defense relentlessly and while he's doing it shuts up. if he doesn't get it that this is the nba and for him to have success he has to be a different type of player he can go back to greece. behaving like he does is unacceptable.

it's simple as that. when you have two efficient ball handlers you don't want a turnover machine who can't hit shots to be the main guy. if he wants to be that he better goes back to europe fast. end of the story.

 

He was not McGrady back in Europe. He wasn't top ten in points or assists. He averaged 14 points and 3 assists. Some people are saying he could become as good a passer as Nash. His euroleague career high for assists in a single game is 7!

 

One more time: assists are measured differently in Europe. You have to get the player face to the basket with no opponent at all to be credited an assist. But anyway, yes, Spanoulis was never the main "assist guy" in the teams he played but that doesn't mean that he can't dish them out if needed.

As for his comparison to McGrady, I don't see anything wrong with that. Span played for the best team in Europe (and probably one of the best in the world, I would wager that Panathinaikos could easily beat half the NBA teams) and he was one of the 2-3 main stars of that team. If he said "I was like Jordan" or "I was like Kobe", then it would have been a wrong comparison, but what he basically said was that he was one of the main stars in a leading team. Isn't that what McGrady is to Houston?

 

Send him to the D league

 

Are you out of your mind? No non-NBA basketball team can beat any NBA team 1 game in 10, much less "easily." V-Span is NOT McGrady!!!

 

You need some serious psychotropic drugs.

 

sounds like JVG has told him what he needs to do and billy needs to get it done and then he will get to play