That every other NBA team passed on him after the season he had last year probably means something. I would have liked to have him back, but apparently he and his agent did not agree with the rest of the league on what he is worth right now. And, honestly, I'm not sure Von would have been as effective on this year's team when the opposition can focus on him a lot more. Last year he could catch people by surprise. That wouldn't have been the case this season.
Why has this news not made the ("popular") national media? They have reorted Kleiza going to the same team, but ZERO mention about Wafer!!
I have a question. I hear all these people saying Wafer was only good last year because Yao opened up so much space for him. And now that Yao's gone, Wafer would suck if we resigned him. Well, why does that apply to Wafer more than it does to any other Rocket? Aren't all our players going to struggle relative to last year now that Yao is out? My god, think about Battier! How much worse is he going to be without Yao forcing double teams and allowing him to spot up for 3's? Will he even crack 5 points/game?
I wouldnt think Yao makes any more difference to Wafer than he does any other player. Von is more than just a jumpshooter - indeed he's at his best slashing in transition.
Yahoo blog? What about NBA.Com, ESPN.com etc. Rockets snubbed again....I would take Wafer over Kleiza any day of the week.
aussie rooster jokes a LOT - but is not joking....especially for the makeup of the current team. I don't rate Kleiza all that much ... sure he can shoot - so can Von. Von is a far better slasher and scorer - and brings more energy. Defensively, Linas has the edge, but i'm taking Von overall.
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/linas_kleiza/career_stats.html EFF +8.00 http://www.nba.com/playerfile/von_wafer/career_stats.html EFF +4.85 They are basically statistically the same.. the difference is, Kleiza is nearly twice as effective on the court than Von. That means Kleiza plays defense and rebounds... The only reason that Denver didn't sign him back is because every dollar they paid him would have been doubled with Lux tax.
Fair enough. I still would rather have Wafer for upside and also for spark off the pine. That said, i'm not crying in my cereal that he is gone.
Does anyone here think that maybe Daryl did offer Von a contract, and a reasonable one, but Von didn't want to play on a Yao-less Rockets? Maybe thats the reason he went overseas to play. Who knows what went through his mind.
He's 24 and a 2nd round pick from 2005. He needs to cash in now while he can. Can't blame him for that.
You said he was a journeyman until last season. Well, on the last day of the previous season, he was still 22 years old. Again, can you really be a journeyman at the ripe old age of 22?
When you have worn that many uniforms and played that few minutes for each, yes, yes you can. Is there some dictionary out there or some other source that says there is a age limit to being a journeyman? I don't get your resistance to this term.
