Ariza is not even close to Von in quickness with the ball, but Ariza is athletic.... Von has elite athleticism and quickness....not good, not great...elite..... That is a MASSIVE advantage....IMO. DD
I've also never seen anyone with a lower basketball IQ, or look so visibly lost on defense. His potential would've been stunted by his intelligence. Exhibit A: Stromile Swift, Gerald Green
I was just talking about athleticism. Von is quicker though I agree with that. Even with that I don't think people should compare the two because they are playing two different positions. This comes down to if you would rather start a season with Wafer or Taylor? My pick right now is Wafer, but I could be wrong.
This is the most Ive seen you post in a thread DD. You must be pissed. Obviously, its firing you up to up the post count. I'm sure another Von will come along. Theres more Vons in the sea. I will miss him too though. He was just a fun guy to cheer for, and I'll leave it at that. Since DD, never committed to the Von Hawk, we never had a chance. LOL. Chris Wilcox anyone?????
It also came down to his blowups with the coach. You can have all the freakish out the park athletism in the world, but if you start going off on the coach especially during the playoffs. Your days are numbered and your going get a low ball offer from your team.
Acting like a 12 year old kid who just got his video game privileges taken away in the midst of a playoff game is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen. I don't need to hear the defenders say "That just shows how passionate he is" That just shows how immature he is. No doubt he has talent, and certainly will play in this league, but I'm not shedding any tears over this loss.
and he and old man barry played about the same level of defense. he also can't grab a rebound to save his life even though he has that great athleticism and size. sad when our mini-point guards outrebound an athletic wing player like wafer. wafer is a nice burst off the bench for scoring but the guy hurts the team in defense (big time), ball movement, and rebounding. he also showed he CAN'T control himself in the playoffs. i'll miss wafer's ability to finish on the fast break but other than that i don't mind that this bonehead is gone.
According to espn.com, Von's unrestricted. I guess he's gone. Another question: Quien es mas macho, Joey Dorsey o Chris Wilcox?
Gerald Green has never shown anything in the regular season like Wafer has. Gerald Green's potential is soley based on hype. He hasn't proven anything in the regular season.
*Falls on both knees gripping fist* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! We will regret this trust me!
Von is not even on the same planet as Ariza when it comes to BBIQ and that is the biggest advantage of them all. Ariza is an exceptional athlete.
Finally, someone actually talking about what the Rockets are pursuing. I say bring them both in the training camp and let them battle it out the old fashion way. Wilcox has been a guy I wanted as a backup center for quite some time.
I have a hard time believing he was ever asked to completely ignore every teammate even if open, to shoot the ball every time he touched it, and to completely turn on the only coach that has ever given him a chance. And to that last point, maybe being humble is asking a bit much for Von, but at least don't bite the hand that feeds you. It is astounding what it must take to turn on a players coach such as Adelman, and especially the man giving you your one big break. Do I agree that he was asked to score the ball as you said? Yes I do. However, just as they are asking of Jermaine now, they wanted him to be aggressive, but make the RIGHT basketball play. Which does not preclude a simple pass from time to time. Such as when the other team shuts everything off. Rather than thinking the Rockets actually asked him to play like a bonehead, I would venture that the truth is, he actually is one. I agree that it is bad asset management to lose an asset for no return. However, Von is a UFA. What other options are there? We cannot trade him unless we sign him. And if we sign him, and no one else wants him, we are stuck with a player we never wanted back, taking up a roster spot, cap space, and everyone else's shots. Rather than passing up on a riskier player as you say, is it out of the realm of possibility that the Rockets simply, genuinely, do not want a bonehead on their squad? There is no risk here. Von Wafer is not a risky player anymore. Last year this time, he was a risky player. That was what caused him to bounce around from team to team. The risk was he showed tendencies of being a bonehead. Now, after a full year of evaluation, he is a proven commodity. A bonehead.
Yeah Moe the blowup with Adelman really hurt Wafer in terms of what management thought about him IMO. If it was one time in the regular season I don't think it would have, but this happened in the playoffs. Also it came out that this wasn't the first time it happened. I hope he can mature because the talent is there, too bad we won't be able to see if he can mature while in Houston.
I'm also trying to remember how affective he was moving without the ball. His passing was minimal at best but he could create for himself in the half court. If only he could create for others.....
exactly...who cares about being an athlete if he is too dumb to use his natural talents for every aspect of the game.
I am not so sure, I think Von's Bball IQ is underated. I am not in the "He is an idiot" crowd, I believe he is coachable and when he played big minutes played very well within the system. Re: Ariza, I am also not sold on him as a high BBall IQ guy either....he is a good player and a good athlete, but I have not seen him make a lot of cuts and set up his man on offense etc....I do see him as a good one on one defender though, but to me....he is no Brent Barry in the BBall IQ department. Now Chase Budinger is.... Wow, so now you are saying Von is dumb.....lol....ok...gonna have fun with this thread in December when Von is going off for someone else's team. DD
I agree with most of your points except the rebounding thing, there were plenty of times I saw Von sky up to grab a board, but other than that his defensive intensity was lackluster to say the least. There was one game during the regular season where he knifed his way to the rack like he usually does, and then made a beautiful pass for an easy layup, then did it again a few moments later. I thought to myself "Holy ****, did Wafer just figure out he can pass when he draws the defense inside?" But alas, it didn't last long.
