A tall glass of Von Wafer, anyone?

by yourdribbleizcookiez on Dec 31, 2011 5:05 PM EST

Hey,

What's up Magic faithful? I'm thoroughly enjoying the return of NBA action (as I 'm no longer relegated to scouring youtube top ten videos and intermittent summer league/ charity game highlights for my regular basketball fix), and our Team in Blue is off to a fast start. With a new influx of players and remaining core of hoopers left to mesh together to form some semblance of a contending squad, there's been many question marks left to be answered in Magic Nation.

A surprising moment came this summer though when fan favorite Brandon Bass was shipped out to the Green Elyssian fields(where ballers go to die, err grow old and retire) in exchange for Big (don't call me Baby) Davis and Vakeaton Quamar (just call me Von) Wafer. The reasoning behind the deal boiled down to Davis being a player on Dwight Howard's wish list of wanting to team up with, to provide championship experience(yea, I guess he did happen to be there at the same time the C's took the Chip), rebounding and gritty defense. The "throw-in" to this particular deal is a relative mysterious quantity by the last name of Wafer, and we know all about throw-ins in trades (please refer to New Jersey- Orlando trade for Vince Carter and "throw in" Ryan Anderson).

So who exactly is Von Wafer? This is his seventh team to be exact, with trips along the way which include both L.A. teams, the Rockets, and the Celtics, and yet it's still hard to get a good gauge on him. From what I can derive of him with my own eyes so far, he sure looks like he could be a tall glass of baller juice off the bench for an Orlando squad in need of capable scorers and creators. Any time he's seen burn on the court I've seen an energized guard with a quick handle capable of diving fearlessly into the lane for multiple scoring opportunities. His defense looks average (so make yourself at home, you're now a Magic guard) but Dwight tends to clean up a lot of mistakes on that end regardless, and with that kind of athleticism I'm sure Von will learn the nuances of Stan Van's defensive system.

My question to Magic faithful then:

Poll

Should the Magic get Von some regular run?

Yes, Get Von on the court and go get us some buckets young man

133 votes

No, Get your D up and practice cheering on the sidelines with Q Rich meanwhile

29 votes

Vakeaton who?

7 votes

169 votes | Poll has closed

This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

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Comments

We could always use Von, but J-Rich and Redick are playing really well right now. Maybe, if one of those guys goes into a prolonged shooting slump-yeah.

"I'm a little dysfunctional
You're the problem, Please don't awakin me
And I'm that way cause back in the day
Most have forsaken me"

by 4QB on Dec 31, 2011 5:52 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Whatever happened to the Iggy/J-Rich trade rumors

I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?

by Souwantmyname on Jan 1, 2012 12:56 PM EST up reply actions

J-Rich can't be traded until March 1st.

RAWR! (╯°□°）╯︵ ƃuıuɹnqǝʞı˥ǝʇsɐ┴ɐ

by aTasteLikeBurning on Jan 1, 2012 1:06 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Don't see how that would help Wafer anyway.

Instead of being buried behind J-Rich and Redick, he’d be buried behind Iguodala and Redick. That’s even MORE buried.

It's on like Gregg Zaun!

by 3.3seconds on Jan 2, 2012 3:12 AM EST up reply actions

Umm...

If it means the Magic have Iguodala and Redick I am willing to sacrifice Wafer’s minutes…

I’m just saying.

RAWR! (╯°□°）╯︵ ƃuıuɹnqǝʞı˥ǝʇsɐ┴ɐ

by aTasteLikeBurning on Jan 2, 2012 5:22 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Right Now

I’d take HEDO over Iguodala..YEA I SAID IT LOL

Don't be a follower homie, be a leader! And if I lose you on twitter, then so be it

by supermantotherescue on Jan 2, 2012 5:48 AM EST up reply actions

and trust me

i hated Hedo last year for what he did to us in the playoffs…but hes the perfect SF for us if he plays like he has been this season

Don't be a follower homie, be a leader! And if I lose you on twitter, then so be it

by supermantotherescue on Jan 2, 2012 5:49 AM EST up reply actions

actually

i just looked at AI’s game log and he’s really good lol..i wouldn’t mind him afterall.. but Hedo has been clutch in the 4th so i dunno…I havent seen AI do that yet this season, but i dont really watch the sixers either

Don't be a follower homie, be a leader! And if I lose you on twitter, then so be it

by supermantotherescue on Jan 2, 2012 5:53 AM EST up reply actions

Let’s compromise. Let’s agree to have Hedo, Iggy, and JJ all at the same time. Done and done.

RAWR! (╯°□°）╯︵ ƃuıuɹnqǝʞı˥ǝʇsɐ┴ɐ

by aTasteLikeBurning on Jan 2, 2012 7:28 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Iggy would play alot of SF since I dont trust Hedo at all

I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?

by Souwantmyname on Jan 2, 2012 12:05 PM EST up reply actions

Iguodala isn't a SF.

They may have pushed him there in Philadelphia because they’re running a small-ball lineup, but the guy is 6’6", barely 200 pounds. He’s not suited for more than spot duty at that position.

Other than that… Iguodala is a strange guy. Love his defense, and his passing is good for a wing, but he’s never had a reliable outside shot. He’s done okay with it this year, but that may be a fluke. If not, he used to get his points by driving the lane, but that’s been slowing down in recent years. I don’t want a guy whose primary offensive weapon is a 32% three-pointer.

It's on like Gregg Zaun!

by 3.3seconds on Jan 2, 2012 12:58 PM EST up reply actions

I voted no (it's so lonely) only due to the fact that J-Rich, JJ, Turk and even Duhon have seemed to come to the understanding it's ok to drive to the basket.

if this continues I see no reason in tinkering with the way the rotation is being run at this point. If we seem to revert back to our old ways of just wanting to stand around the 3 point line and make no effort to move at all, then I’d be much more willing to vote for him to get more on court time.

Please leave a message, I'm busy hiding my cat from TGS.

by malenko on Dec 31, 2011 5:53 PM EST reply actions

I said no for the same reason.

Can we just start playing games on the court already?!

by EnnBee on Dec 31, 2011 9:20 PM EST up reply actions

Wafer will get his chance

…but in the right situations.

With so many games in such a short period of time for the next several months, I’m sure Coach Van Gundy will want to put in someone fresh off the bench like Von Wafer to give the opposition a different look.

The guard rotation is looking really good right now, though, and the Magic are playing well.

Chicago Blackhawks... 2010 Stanley Cup Champions
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by Mike from Illinois on Dec 31, 2011 7:37 PM EST reply actions

Said no but will change if....

Von shows defensive toughness. Can’t stay out there if he can’t play D. SVG will teach him and some day he will get more minutes and everyone will be happy. I like seeing him play….on another note is anyone else not surprised how well Q rich has played in his limited minutes. I know he is buried but if our role guys continue to play well we could go deep this year assuming D12 becomes the savior of Otown and we resurrect a statue of him in a super man cape on top of the suntrust building viewable from space.

by OrlLove on Dec 31, 2011 10:47 PM EST reply actions

What are talkng about none of our guards are good defensively.. Our best one is JJ and thats because he just tries hard

I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?

by Souwantmyname on Jan 1, 2012 12:57 PM EST up reply actions

Well, Redick plays solid defense, as does Nelson — they’re not going to do any flashy man-to-man stuff, but they don’t lose their man or allow wide-open shots, and that’s really all you need. If you can stay on your man and take that 10% or so off their FG%, or make them beat you with risky athletic plays, that’s good enough. Richardson isn’t a good defender by any means, but he knows the system better than Wafer.

I… don’t know how good a defender Duhon is.

As for Wafer, yeah, that’s his main problem — we already have two perfectly good options at the 2. What does Wafer give us that Redick or Richardson don’t? If he wants playing time, he need to answer that question.

It's on like Gregg Zaun!

by 3.3seconds on Jan 2, 2012 3:11 AM EST up reply actions

Drive's to the basket and an ability to finish at the rim

I probably know Judo! How many of you can make the same boast?

by Souwantmyname on Jan 2, 2012 12:06 PM EST up reply actions

I think he was brought in as an insurance... in case our guard rotation was showing signs of inability to shoot the ball.

Or shyness in driving to the rim. I mean I’d still trust JJ and J-Rich over Wafer to hit the three, but last year they seemed to be in a slump that lasted for months, and we just couldn’t get points outside of Dwight.

He looked great against OKC, but I think like many of the new signings in the previous years, they take a while to get used to the Magic system

by RL Magic on Jan 1, 2012 12:29 AM EST reply actions