i dont blame him for wanting more money, this kid is special, he just chose a really bad time to do it a.k.a the recession. no one wants to spend any money right now, especially when the time to spend is coming up. i feel bad for von wafer, he could easily be a 22.0 ppg guy with about 30 minutes of play.
but hedo is basically an all star. people know hes going to drop about 20 a night. but why spend money on an experiment that could easily be wasted money.
Lets not make him out to be a total victim here. He has potential and several times has shown that ability in games but thinking he could consistently be a 22.0 ppg guy (in 30min no less) is quite a stretch. Those kind of per minute numbers with that much playing time would make him a top 10 scorer, he's not even close to that. You can expect his scoring efficiency to drop dramatically with more time, both due to defenses keying in on him and not playing against scrubs as much. He definitely has his share of issues too: -lackluster defense -most notably, walking out on his teammates in the freaking playoffs. -a lot of inconsistancy. One could argue the economy just made his issues more readily apparent than they would otherwise be in a good economy. In a good economy, some team like GS would look at Wafer and salivate.
There's a reason why this is only in "advanced" talks, because the biannual exception is only at 1.9million, which isn't that much higher than what Morey is putting on the table- 1.75 million per year. From the source, it seems the Knicks are offering only a 2 year deal at most, which is similar to what Morey is offering (last time we heard it is 3.5 MIL/2yrs). Von can still be had unless the negotiation process has turned sour between DM and Von's agent. Sometimes bitter feelings can cause a player to make irrational decisions.
Didn't he reject the Rocket's initial offers believing he could get MLE money out on the market? It's only after he rejected us that we went out and paid for Taylor. There is no one to blame but himself for misjudging the market.
Is this steeped in 'fact' (as we know it)? Knicks would only offer 1-year deal; 2-year deal from Rox = Bird Rights for VW. Is it really 1.75mm? MLE = 5.8? Andersen = 2.3. 2 rooks = @850 X 2, 1.7. That leaves - Wafe's deal, or one like it for someone else? BTW - if VW goes Knickland then please succeed wildly: hurt the Jazz' shot at a high NYK lotto pick!
The Rockets don't even need to offer a two-year deal to get Von his "Bird" rights, at least to the extent that he'd ever benefit from them. Even a one-year deal from Houston would give the Rockets Early Bird rights on Wafer that would enable them to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him for up to the average player salary (aka MLE amount). No way Von Wafer gets more than the MLE, even with a good showing next year.
...which makes Rox most attractive to VW, if he has an offer. Does he 'have' the 'offer' described by ambrose86 from Rox?
Ditto! Love, Marcin Gortat Trevor Ariza Brandon Bass Jamario Moon (a.k.a. guys who will get paid more than Wafer next year).
Here is what I think is happening with Wafer. Morey is smart, he doesn't want to overpay and knows that Von's first choice is to remain in Houston, so he tells Von... "Sure we want you back but we only have a small amount, why don't you go out and test the market and if it is reasonable we will match" Von says...sure.....then he goes out into a depressed market as a one dimensional player who is still an unknown.... Is he the guy that struggled for 3 seasons, or is he the guy that played great last year? And, what about that issue in the playoffs with his coach? So, the market goes along the big dogs get snatched up and it is time for the little guppies to get their payday...Von is in this group. He now gets and offer, goes back to Morey and the team decides whether to match it or not. Now, this is where I think the Rockets are playing poker, I do think they want Von back, because they have not committed totally to rebuilding and going into a year where your backup wing position is filled by a total rookie, drafted in the 2nd round no less is very scary. I am sure Adelman would like to have a little bit of Von as insurance in case Chase or Jermaine is not ready, and the Rocket brass probably saw how exciting Von is, and knows that in a down year....exciting, puts butts in the seats... To me I think Von will sign in Houston if it is a reasonable deal, and if not, then good luck elsewhere. Whether he ever develops into a good NBA player who is more than one dimensional, is entirely up to him..... He has amazing ability and scoring the ball is a good skill to have, and his competitive fire is great too, but he has to learn how to be a good teamate, play within himself and utilize his unique speed and athleticism for the good of the team overall, and not just him scoring the ball. Anyway, that is how I read the magic 8 ball, but admittadly it is 100% a guess. DD
The Rockets might want to consider approaching Von with a "Mo Taylor" type of agreement, in which the player agrees to play at a below market price in exchange for a wink-wink promise from the team (nothing in writing, though, a la the Joe Smith fiasco in Minnesota) to re-sign him the following year to a larger deal, regardless of whether the player's performance merits it. This would involve the following: Step 1: Von agrees to re-sign with the Rockets to a one-year deal for either (a) the league minimum for a four-year vet ($884,881) or (b) his "Non-Bird" Exception amount ($1,061,857). The "Non-Bird" Exception is a little-known salary cap exception that allows teams to re-sign their own free agents over which they have neither full Bird nor Early Bird rights to a contract starting at the greater of 120% of their prior salary or 120% of the league minimum. In Von's case, this amount would be the latter. However, one major benefit of Von re-signing for the straight league minimum ($884,881) would be that the league would reimburse the Rockets $59,384, and only $825,497 of that amount would count against the luxury tax. In total, by Von taking the straight minimum versus the "Non-Bird" Exception amount, the Rockets would save about $473,000. Step 2: Next summer, Von and the Rockets agree for Von to wait patiently while the Rockets pursue outside free agents. At this time, Wafer's cap hold would only be about $1,380,415 (if he previously signed for the "Non-Bird" Exception amount) or a rock bottom $854,389 (if he previously signed for the minimum). This minimal cap hold will enable the Rockets to maximize their cap space without risking losing Wafer. Step 3: After all outside free agents are signed (other than minimum filler), re-sign Von to a two-year deal for (most or all of) the MLE amount, or a total of anywhere between $8-12M. Of course, the worst case scenario for the Rockets would be if Von absolutely sucks next year but the team is "stuck" having to re-sign him to the bigger deal (a la Mo Taylor). But the total dollars we're talking about here are relatively minimal, compared to Mo-Tay's contract. Von gets his pay day. The Rockets managed their cap situation. Come 2010, this contract really wouldn't screw Les Alexander much, since he'd be significantly below the luxury tax line. Everybody wins.
I think I found Von's twitter. I can't tell if it's legit or not though. http://twitter.com/von_wafer_
i think youre reading way too into this. perhaps to fill your internal hopes. the rox may take him if he's cheap... but theyve already invested in some young guys. each of their 2nd rounders already amounts to more than what the market is willing to bear for wafer.
If Von really wants to stay with the Rockets then your suggestions are very logical. If He can not find the value he is looking for then spend another year with the team and try to show why He deserves a big raise.
Well as your math suggests, somewhere around that amount of 1.7-8 MIL seems reserved for wafer. Again, it might simply be a conincidence that Anderson's contract starts at that amount. Morey might have given up on Wafer based on Yao's injury and Buddinger's solid play at summer camp and Tmac's recent in-shape photos.
