ya I know lol... but we can dream can't we? plus for all we could know it could be an acquisition to be in the division 2 developmental team!! lol I refuse to believe the fact until it is etched in stone!!!!!!
DD, Will you be come a Greek basketball fan now that you have 2 reasons in Spanoulis and Von Wafer to watch the games?
The headline said something about the ludacris aquisition of Von Wafer and Linus Kleiza. EuroLeague is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Everybody saw what happened to Real Madrid in soccer and they want to emulate. I think it is crazy not to take the money and accept the PT above all which will be more useful.
haha possibly. but I don't think so. Or maybe I am but I just don't realise it. Although having seen his homemade videos and what he looked like I'd say we look pretty different. But you never know cos the connection could just be some kind of spiritual Von Wafer connection. Not sure if its a good thing to be connected to DD tho =p (j/k lol) when its not blasted and buried, I aint gonna own up to it lol. Von Wafer will forever live in the hearts of true Rockets fans!!! Retire Von's number!!! I want a petition! yeah you'd think with the financial mess that is the European basketball they'd stop giving out ridiculous cash to these NBA-calibre players. What kind of economic climate artificial greenhoues did they just build? Real Madrid I thought was mad to mortgage the farm on Ronaldo and a couple of other superstars, I'm sorry but basketball isn't the same as soccer in Europe and before they realise Von Wafer will be saying F$@#$@ u to the coaches for not playing defense but I guess those coaches won't know what Von's on about cos they cant understand Von's american swearing. Von, though, did his career a sin by going for the money over playing time. With the Rockets he could have got 30min per game if he could fit in with the offense and played a slick of defense. I mean he's only in his early 20's he should prove himself and the bigger cheques will be at the end!!! its a lose-lose situation.
DD should try to follow Greek basketball. I'm sure he can give us Von updates all the time. Heck if I could follow Euro basketball, I would.
DD, long time reader, not a big poster. Im a part time writer for the NBA, and basketball in general. Since I am Greek I have some sources out in Greece. Its funny Olympiakos is getting Wafer, and should finalize the signing of Kleiza this week as well. They will cover all of Wafers taxes, and he wil get 4.2 mil euros for 2 years. House covered as well. A lot of these players think how much they pay on morgage. This is a great deal for him. Also he is only having to play in 50 games as opposed to 82. Thats like me offering you 2 jobs a) 40 hours and I give you a salary of 500 k a year b) 70 hours for 100 k a year
It'll be interesting to see how he adjust to the game overseas. The style of play is much more team-oriented, and minutes are spread more evenly across the board on Euro league rosters. Bench players see more significant action, and starters don't necessarily play 35+ minutes. For example, Josh Childress only saw around 24 minutes of action/game with Olympiakos, and he put up close to 9 ppg. Therefore, Von may have less of an impact on Olympiakos. I could honestly see him averaging less than his regular season average last season.
I wish him the best and maybe in a couple years when his contract is up, he can come back to the Rockets, and hopefully by then, he's more mature in his attitude.
1) So who has a better chance of playing in the NBA playoffs this year? Wafer or the Rockets? 2) Who ends up playing more minutes in the NBA from this point forward? Wafer or Jermaine Taylor? The first question is obviously tongue in cheek, but I think the second question is a legitimate one. Of course, we won't find out the answer for several years.
i don't know if it was the right choice for von. obviously he didn't get similar offers from nba teams and he hasn't earned much money in the nba until now. but i don't see him lasting long in greece. he basically stands for everything that coaches there don't like. now i'm not one of the guys that bash him for no reason. for once i agree with dd for a bit. von was a big reason we overachieved last season and his skill set was an ideal fit for this team. we haven't had a similar player in years and it will be difficult to replace him. but i also disagreed strongly with dd on von's potential. imho, von is very one dimensional and hasn't much room to grow. sure, he could work on his defense and he could cut down on his boneheaded and ballhoggish plays but overall he just doesn't have the talent. bottom line: i'm sad it didn't work out for both sides. the rockets will miss him for sure. don't take it for granted that any player on our current roster will replace him that easily. and for von, i don't think going to europe was the right choice for him in the long run. i hope he makes it through the 2 years and i hope he gets paid what he was promised. but i don't see it.
