I didnot went to open a new topic. But the information in the article need to in new topic. If not close the topic http://www.draftcity.com/dcdaily.php?p=249 Monday, March 28, 2005 Spanoulis giving the Rockets reason for optimism? By Jonathan Givony Written by Dimitris Ritsonis Outside the NCAA final four and NBA draft excitement of the previous weeks, comes a point guard which has been mentioned again in DraftCity and has been a product of hard work and absolute belief in improvement of every talent. It is the captain of Maroussi, the second best team in the Greek A1, Vassilis Spanoulis. The 22-year old point guard, a player whom nobody outside Greece had even heard of before last year's NBA Draft. Spanoulis, an old school PG, a player with great court vision and very good knowledge of basketball fundamentals is not what you would call a "great talent". He is not particularly athletic and is not the fastest player in the world. But that’s where "natural" drawbacks end. Having been completely unknown before the beginning of last season (2003-2004), Spanoulis was voted the team captain by his teammates in Maroussi, normally the 6th-10th best Greek team before last year. Starting as the team's 6th man, Spanoulis had an exciting year last season averaging more or less 13.0 ppg, 1.0 spg and 4.0 apg to help Maroussi to an exciting 10-0 run early in the season and first place in the league for most of the year, losing it only two weeks before the end of the regular season, when the team finished 2nd behind the 3-time European Champions Panathinaikos. Spanoulis became famous in Greece for his strong defensive game, nice slashing abilities and his very strong, demanding character. His buzzer-beating abilities were memorable too. He was a leader in the making. The surprising Maroussi team went undefeated in the playoffs, losing only in the finals to Panathinaikos, but was not able to qualify for Euroleague, as ULEB has two more contracts with other teams (Olympiakos, AEK) and thus, only the Champions make it to Euroleague. Alongside his domestic league performance, Spanoulis had a spectacular FIBA Europe League semifinal win against Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he scored 26 points along with 5 assists. Spanoulis’ good momentum continued into the summer, as he was selected in the NBA Draft (at #50 by Dallas, which traded him immediately to Houston) and he was also called to the National Team of Greece which finished 5th in the Olympic tournament. Spanoulis was more of a spectator in the Olympics, as Greece's roster includes some really great and experienced point guards. However, he must have learned a lot by the competitiveness in the Athens Olympics, as his season started in a very strong way... The A1 proved to be more competitive than anyone would expect, but Maroussi, a Cinderella last year, started the season strongly, despite a very tough schedule early in the year. He had 24 points and the buzzer beating trey in an 90-92 away win over the Euroleague top-16 team AEK, 22 points and 4 assists in a 89-87 win over Aris and 13 points, 6 assists and 4 steals in a spectacular and very important 75-55 win over top-spot rivals Panathinaikos, two days ago. In all these games, Spanoulis was voted the MVP of the match day, something that makes him now one of the top (if not the main) favorite for the MVP of the regular season. Spanoulis has improved his game decisively and this is proved by the additional shots he is taking and making every game. Having shot more than any other Maroussi player, he is now the team's first option, after being the third last year. He is averaging a good 15.0 ppg (shooting 44% from the field, 41% from downtown and 80% from the free throw line) 1.0 spg and 4.0 apg, while he is a "lock" for the national team for this summer's Eurobasket. According to information from his team, he will go to the Houston Rockets only if he is given 10-15 minutes per game, while the Rockets have been sending him tapes all year, looking for him to participate in their summer camp in a few months. It seems as everything is going well for the 6-4 PG, who has also said that the only reason for not playing in the NBA is qualifying for the Euroleague. Something that doesn’t look impossible for Maroussi after last Sunday's game. I think JVG will draft two PF in next draft in both round,the 2nd will be European and will stay there ?
Then he will not be going to the Houston Rockets. JVG (or most coaches) will not make that guarantee for anybody, let alone for a 2nd round draft pick without much of resume, let alone at a position where we are 2-deep, barring injury, though next season.
I would love to wait and see how he does with the Greek national team in a future tournament or something, and then it would probably be easier to try and actually know how well he is playing and his strengths/weaknesses. I think this guy will be a good future player with the Rockets, I would LOVE to have me a Euro on this team (seems all the good teams have one)
If Spanoulis demands any amount of time to sign an NBA contract, he must be allergic to money. And if the Rockets are looking to a (at best) third string PG to provide a 'reason for optimism,' they're pretty hard up.
Exactly. There is not a single team in the NBA that would guarantee minutes to a foreign rookie, especially a one selected in the 2nd round. Hell, look at Darko in Detroit, who knew the 2nd overall pick in a draft would be getting splinters from the bench.
Now THAT's a Euro I would trade anyone (besides T-Mac and Yao) for, including our future 20 1st round picks That guy, once he gets minutes, will be Soooooo good, he will make you forget any other Croatian you have ever watched play (or is he a Serbian? DAMN why did Yoguslavia break up! It is getting confusing to know who is from where now)
It's hard to tell. Maybe he has a lot of ego, or maybe he has a lot of pride. It seems to me that he doesn't want to sit on the bench just for more money. I would say let him play in the pre-season to find out how good he is and/or how much potential he has.
I say sign him up. give him his 10 to 15 minutes behind Wesley. You know Wesley is on the wrong side of 30 and I see Mike James as more of a "microwave" instant offense guy instead of the teams future point guard. This kid sounds like our "Tony Parker"
...but the odds our he's our Zoran Plananic, just like Antonis Fotsis was more like Ethemias Rentzias than Dirk Nowizitzki. He ain't getting guranteed PT, that's for damned sure.
They probably figured after the loss of Francis that we'd have the point guard spot open long term. We weren't gonna find a young Tony Parker type immediately so drafting a developing foreign player was a damn good solution in retrospect. We're all happy with our guard rotation now but they'll be done in a couple years anyway when Spanu (like Manu? ) will be ready to play. We're lucky to have such a solid organization.
Assuming Barry gets resigned, the Rockets have absolutely no playing time for the guy, much less 10-15 minutes. James, Sura, Barry, and Wesley pretty much fills up all the playing time. Even if one of them gets injured, the other 3 can simply play more minutes. Now, a year removed, with Barry perhaps retiring and Wesley's contract up, there's a chance for Vassilis Spanoulis. But certainly not any earlier.
That's what they said about Boki, too. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Anyone who can't get minutes on an NBA team most likely doesn't deserve minutes on an NBA team.
I'd like to see we trade James in the summer for a true point guard though. a young Mark Jackson type player.
