I agree with you, if he really wanted to prove to people he should have stayed. But he took the money and ran. That doesn't mean he can't play though, because clearly he can. I will admit that I am guilty of underestimating the transition between Fiba ball and the NBA, the games are vastly different......at least for most NBA teams. Some do play that way.....Phoenix, Toronto, Golden State.....but most do not. DD
Rafer went through hell and back to get (and stick in the NBA) and become a contributer. He went from a guy on Milwaukee who only got garbage time to becoming a starter in the NBA. What you think of him is irrelevant. If nothing else he'd be a great backup on any team in the league. He chose not to quit like your boy. I'll take him 100 out of 100 times over VSpan.
All I know is he can succeed in International play. He definitely has some strengths and weaknesses but we'll never know. If you're saying he can play in general, ok. If you're saying he can make a difference in the NBA then I have to disagree. A lack of dedication and passing on a chance to play a rtole for a team that is consistantly a championship contender tells me he's not a guy I'd want to invest my time in
I respect your position, it makes perfect sense. I am just enjoying watching him play in the Olympics. DD
Cool. I have no problem with anyone supporting a guy whom they are a fan of. I like a lot of athletes that others don't.
DaDakota is making the critical point that if he was good, he would have actually been good. His logic is unassailable on this ground.
You are just a hater, sit back enjoy the show, V-Span will again prove he can play the game of basketball. If he came back to the NBA, under the right coach, he would be a quality NBA player. DD
So you are saying that if he were good he would be good - got it. The reality is that he was not, and hence, wasn't - joining the long list of the many guys who were All-FIBA and All-Failure in the big leagues. It's a distinguished list which includes many players with far more distinguished careers at the inernational level than Spanoulis, such as Jasikevicus. So really he shouldn't be ashamed to be on that list, just in the ignominious way in which he got there.
Nope, I am saying he is good, just needs time to adjust to the NBA game, same thing I said his entire rookie year. I would hardly call making millions of dollars to be on an NBA team a failure, some players certainly did not live up to the billing, it happens to tons of US players too...Kwame Brown anyone? But sometimes, it is about the right fit for a players game, VSpan did not fit under our old coach, he would fit under our new and improved coach though. Stop hating Sam, just enjoy the Olympics, if V-Span stinks it up against the USA, I fully expect you to come in guns blazing.... DD
speaking of team usa vs. greece, after watching greece today vs. germany and watching team usa vs. china (in combination with the boxscore of angola vs. team usa) i come to the conclusion that the greek team has a very good chance of beating team usa (probably 50-50). looks like the usa has learned nothing after all. the best nba athletes aren't neccessarily the best fiba basketball players (as you can see with spanoulis).
no you explained rather emphaticallly that he was ready to play immediately and was more "NBA-ready" than even the most polished American collegian could possibly ever hope to be. You were rather clear on this - should I quote you? In NBA terms his career was unsuccessful, no need to explain how.
Stop misrepresenting, the argument we had was whether a player that was a professional in Europe was more ready than a guy coming out of college. And, my entire argument about V-Span has ALWAYS been that the Rockets were not going to win with Rafer and that particular team, so you might as well develop him to find out if he was part of the team's future. End of story. I would say incomplete. DD
No - you rather distinctly made it clear that, despite the fact that Sam Cassell was born in raised in the US, had an extensive record of success at the highest levels of amateur basketball in the US and regularly played with NBA players - Vasilis Spanoulis would be vastly more prepared to make an immediate impact and be successful in the NBA than Cassell was as a rookie. A patently ridiculous and idiotic argument then as well as now, but it's the argument you made. This was the case you and somebody who was probably one of your buddy Bexcelant's incarnations attempted to make repeatedly. Do you want me to quote you? I can dig up the thread. There are some very funny predictions from you in it I bet. which is an idiotic argument - you might as well say they won't win with Rafer so they should start YOU at PG. The fact of the matter is that they are much better off with Rafer than a PG who couldn't shoot, pass, defend, or handle the ball with any consistency - which was what Spanoulis was in the NBA. fail. end of story.
Shocking that a glass is half empty guy would disagree with a glass is half full guy. V-Span plays the USA next....get out your 6 shooter pardner ! DD
The funniest part of that picture is Luther in the background looking lost, confused & in the wrong place as always.
Your 5th grade logic is amusing but don't you think it's time to let go. Van Dummy is gone and the fact that Vspan helped him out the door is old news. Van Dummy seems to be happy, Vspan is prospering in Greece and the Rockets are better for both of them being gone.
