At least the MLE? That's a freaking joke. Von was nice for us, but all he's got is scoring. In any other aspect of basketball like defense, passing, and rebounding he is deficient. Ariza destroys him in all those categories and nearly matches him in scoring as a fourth/fifth option. We may not have gotten Ariza on a value contract, but he's certainly a better player than Wafer. My god, if you think Wafer's worth more than the MLE I bet you think those contracts handed out to MoT, Cato, and Moochie were justified.
The number of teams Ariza played on versus Wafer played on was debunked in another thread. Ariza has been traded to his different teams, where Von was cut. Big difference. I'm also not buying the Shaq and Kobe, etc. argument. First of all, all the players you mentioned are elite Hall of Fame types. Von's a serviceable role player. Also, you forget to mention that Kobe forced Shaq out. Clyde retired to avoid Barkley's crap. I hope the Suns overpay. Streetball fits with their no defense game.
I agree you need balance, but being able to create != chucking it the second you touch a basketball. You are the one who claims the Rockets achieved nothing by taking the Lakers to 7 games. Because they didn't win and you don't get a prize for coming close. Well using your own logic, JR has achieved nothing, has not won on any level and is a loser. At least Battier and Scola won at their respective levels before reaching the NBA. Please be consistent with your arguments. Rudy Fernandez has won on the international stage, and has a basketball IQ infinitely higher than Wafer. Not only can he pass, it is one of his strengths. He moves better without the ball and would fit perfectly in Adelman's system. Wafer is the antithesis of "team" and the bane of any "system". Please refrain from putting Wafer in the same sentence with Clutch City legends such as Mad Max and E.T. Wafer's problem is beyond immaturity. That was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Even without the run in with Adelman, Wafer is the prototype for one dimensional players. As such a proponent of balance, I am surprised you defend him to such extent. Maxwell and Cassel may have been trigger happy, but they at least passed the ball and played within the team. Wafer, on the other hand, lacks the capacity to physically expel a basketball in the direction of a teammate. It is as if he would self-implode on a subatomic level if said act were ever necessary.
Yo yo, This is just wrong, you can not find guys that can run and score at the NBA level, especially as EFFICIENTLY as Von does. That is one of the biggest misnomers on this board.....I mean if it were soooooooo easy to find them, then why have the Rockets been looking for an athletic SG since Cuttino left? I mean if they are so easy...why do we get stuck with Luther Head. Finding guys who can succeed at the NBA level is not as easy as people are making it out to be.....not even close. And paying $6 million for Taylor and Budinger is not the same as signing someone to a contract...it is great to have these assets, but it is a really risky use of capital, but hey, it ain't my capital. DD
exactly the rocket have been looking for athletic wing player for years and did not get one until Von arrived. And Von was statistically the best shooter on the team last season, as well as one of the best finishers around the rim
repeat of a sellout: The attitude problem that Rox do not want to deal with with Von Hawk is that the VW wants starter minutes and Adelman wants to give 1/2 of that. That makes for an irresolvable difficulty IF VeeDub is getting >1.5mm. If Wafe would come in accepting his role and then work his arse off to expand it then the fit would be there, meaning here. BTW - Is it official that VW is a Sun?
First season to get to play. And he was a key player on a VERY GOOD team. Sure, his game isn't perfect, but what more is the guy supposed to do? He came out of nowhere and helped this team almost get 2nd in the conference. Was he supposed to make the all-star team in his first full season? Do any other young players not have any weaknesses in their game whatsoever? He's 23 - are you saying he's peaked already? Actually I think at least one poster asserted that earlier.
This gateresque post really annoys me DD. What about this move is moneyball? He's a young player that outperformed his contract, so you could say bringing him in was moneyball. If he signs a contract that is over what the Rockets deem to be his value, then that can be moneyball. But right now, it appears that the rockets just aren't that into you err Von. That's not moneyball, thats management. And by the way, the guy with enough foresight to bring your new object of admiration to the table, seems to think he's got an upgrade in a guy he just drafted. Again, that's not moneyball, that's management. So the next time you fire a programmer for not being able to stay on task and work in a team enviornment, regardless of his talent level, remember.. that's management.
It's even harder to find guys like that who are not selfish head cases. Wafer might be the only SG in existence who could make T-Mac look like the ultimate team player. If he's really gone, I'll lose exactly ZERO minutes of sleep over it. And so the search continues...
he's only 24, maybe i'm in the minority, but we should of kept him because we don't know how JT and Budinger will work out. we don't even know if they are going to be in the rotation.
It's been established that Wafer had the majority of his points on fast breaks and dunks, and other than the (fairly) open 3's that he hit, his other jumpshots were not good shots (strongly contested, while a teammate was open). Is it fair to say that his production diminished after Lowry arrived? Lowry is great at going coast-to-coast and getting the 'and-1' igniting that second unit that he was working with. I guess with the development of Ariza, Taylor and Budinger, we don't really need the 24 yr old Wafer when we have 4 other guys at least who have more upside and arguably higher basketball iq's, to lead the fast break which is Wafer's bread and butter.
So the way he plays in his first impacting season dictates what he will do his entire career. LeBron had a terrible jump shot when he came into the league and he now is a great pull up shooter. Wafer will only continue to improve in his career. He needs a lot of work with his D but that is what the off season is for. I really hope this news isn't true, we will lose a great player. I really think he has the potential to be an all-star in this league. You can say what you want but the talent is there.
Von never shot above 30% before last season. A season in which he had the likes of Yao, Artest and for a short while T-Mac to take the heat and open things up for him. Well this season he would have none of those players. Still think he's worth $3 million per season?? Listen, I am not saying I don't like him as a player. However I do not believe he has earned a contract of that magnitude, especially after being a distraction in the playoffs. Double his salary to 1.8 million per year for 2 years and let him prove he deserves it and deserves to be in this league.
That's an assumption. He might improve and he might not. He obviously hasn't improved those areas so far during his time in the NBA or in previous offseasons. I'm going to guess that Rocket's management doesn't think he has the type of dedication to devote to develop his glaring deficiencies. He's a player who took advantage of an injury to promote himself. He did that pretty well, and still no teams are biting. Where there's smoke, there's fire.
