LOL - Never !!!!!!! But if he leaves, he is no longer a Rocket and I of course will have to move on... DD
And the mancrush could never be stronger. Who Posted? Total Posts: 461 Username Posts DaDakota 67 whoops make it 68
So when you were 7 you listened to Rockets broadcasts on your radio and kept the box score. Who did the broadcasts back then?
He's a good fit in Phoenix. They love one dimensional players, especially when that one dimension is scoring. He won't be missed, I promise you that. We have guys at the two who can score, play defense, and do other things that are more important. Von always struck me as a guy with very low bball IQ. A scorer who can fill it up, but he was only effective when he played with other bench players. He will never be a starter in this league because he doesn't know how to play any role other than scorer. And this is the NBA, most teams dont need scoring in their starting 5.
He's been around long enough that he should have shown growth. Guys who barely make a team and get to play 15 minutes a game shouldn't be complaining. I really thought Von Wafer could carve out a role on this team. He showed flashes of brilliance...but it was all individual. Even his passes were done as an individual actor. For someone who emphasizes back-cuts, setting screens and team play, your foundness of Von Wafer is enigmatic at best. I like Von, and he brings a spark of energy off the bench that can hurt teams. But by the same token, he can't play extended minutes because he just makes so many mistakes on both ends of the court. I constantly see him do that...just bone-headed plays. And it's not laziness - he does things like double teaming the wrong guy or staying with his man at the wrong moment - it's just poor decision making. I don't think you can really coach through that. But his offensive game is enough for him to keep on, but not for anything more then a few million. Let him go to Phoenix. Oh, and about Stromile Swift - I bagged that signing from the get go. Hated it. You were right, everyone was excited, but it wasn't everyone, I got crucified for saying Swift wasn't anywhere close to being enough to making us a contender. I think you're evaluations would be great for the collegiate game. I mean, all the guys you liked I think would have made a kick-ass college team that would be highly successful. Problem is that the same guys lack the quickness and talents necessary to survive in a far more brutal, fast-paced, and smaller room for error NBA game.
Damn, I liked Von. He was fun to watch. I wanted to see way MORE of him and way LESS of Artest during the playoffs. Going to be a hell of a different team next season. Thank god we still have my #1 man, Scola!
Von benefitted from A. the mcgrady injury and B. our lack of scoring off the bench, especially when AB was moved to the starting lineup. I don't think Von is the only guy on our roster capable of producing in that sort of desperate situation. I'll definantly admit that Von made last year's team much better, but I think we're moving in a direction now that makes him expendable.
I remember when the Rockets came to town and when the Summit opened. I also listened to early games on the radio.
Artest was the main reason we won game 6 against Portland. Ron was overwhelmed in the LA series, but so was Von. Von looked horrible at times being defended by Sasha. Atleast ron could say he was being doubled and defended by superior athletes.
Von could have really developed. Ron Artest did help us a lot, but those awful three point attempts just killed it for me.
Yeh me too, but atleast Artest was a willing passer, a solid defender, and a decent rebounder. Von has too many holes in his game. Maybe he develops, but he's been in the league a few years. Maybe he's just uncoachable. He annoyed Adelman a few times, and Adelman is a players coach.
When I was 8....I did '72-'73 season......mostly I recall Gene Peterson and Jim Foley doing them because they did it for so long, and I remember doing the same for the Astros with Gene Elston...etc....but I can't remember who was doing the radio broadcasts before Geno and Jim....it has been a long time....I do remember Tex Winter as the coach then Johnny Egan taking over and Tom Nissalke etc...but can't remember the radio guys....... I remember Jerrry Trupiano doing the Aeros....but who was it doing the Rockets back then? I am going to email Nelson Luis and ask...good question though Fmullegun. DD
lol yah..im not saying Von is better than artest...and we should have signed artest back if possible...but we are trying to develope right now..so i think we should've brought Von back so he could work on his games. He could have a solid career if he just calmed down a bit and carefully selected his every move instead of just getting the ball and trying to find any way possible to get the ball in the rim.
Moneyball is about asset management...calling DM a bad asset manager is like accusing Bill Gates of inferior IT knowledge. FYI we are getting something in return....cap space. I think you have a serious man crush on Von, so much that it ends up distorting whatever value he has to the team. Yes, Von won quite a few games for us least season. Yes, he was a dynamic scorer who actually approximated the scoring output Tmac had been giving us the past couple of years when given ample playing time. However Von as much as you love him is a dime a dozen in this league. In fact we already had 3 guys on our roster who are capable of doing the stuff he did for us last season. What's the difference between JT, Bud, White and Von Wafer? I'll tell you, game experience and more importantly opportunity. We were lucky the Rox decided to keep Von over Strawberry, but Von was even luckier that the Rox chose him, because if they hadn't he'd be playing overseas and I'd be turning on the tv and see him playing in my local basketball league. Of course your argument would be no way could these guys replace Von, they haven't done anything on the court. But isn't that catch 22? How can they do anything on the court if you won't let them 'cause you just can't let go of Von Wafer? At this time last year all everyone knew of Von Wafer was that he got dunked on by Kirk Snyder. What made Von Wafer great was not his skill (which is common), but rather his value. At minimum the guy was a freakin' steal. But now we have to pay him money, he turns from a steal to a extremely efficient player. That's ok in itself, but factor in his tendency to pout and how he doesn't play defense AND how he got shut by down by Sasha Vujacic of all people and suddenly signing him to 2mill+ means we have a normal asset on our hands. Why settle for that when you have three guys who have the potential to give you what Wafer does...at minimum? Not settling for good, going for great...now THAT's good asset management IMO. I don't get your bit about low risk players either. That kind of thinking is the reason why the world is suffering from the financial crisis right now. Pau Gasol is low risk. Kobe Bryant is low risk. Kevin Garnett is low risk. Tim Duncan is low risk. All of those guys are champions, well worth their contracts, extremely professional, are not chronically injured and basically about as low risk as you can get. These guys are blue-chip in stock terms, and if you ask me I'd rather have the safe blue chip over the risky junk stocks any day of the week.
There is a lot of negative comment about Von's unwillingness or inability to pass. There is room to find some fault with that, but one thing that hasn't been discussed was his improvement in that area. By the end of the season he was passing much more often than he was early on. At first you could know for sure that if Von had the ball he would never be getting rid of it. That just wasn't the case later on. I think his progress was a good sign. I would love to have him on the team provided he could be had for a reasonable price.
