Von Wafer Update

Followup. (This goes back to the old blog.)

Von Wafer has worked himself into a footnote in the Kobe Bryant saga.

Ted M. Green wrote the following:

Like many of you, I’m still trying to adjust to the idea that the owner who presided over something as special as 8 NBA championships in 22 thrilling years is the same owner on the precipice of trading both Shaquille O’Neal AND Kobe Bryant in the space of less than three years....

Jerry’s eldest son wasn’t doing much of anything besides counting his inheritance from daddy before he suddenly and not very surprisingly morphed into another Buss All in the Family executive. What we hear is that he has had a growing and now influential hand in player personnel matters, partnering with GM Mitch Kupchak. If that’s true, I hope it wasn’t Buss fils who had a hand in the drafts where the Lakers passed on, oh, Carlos Boozer in 2002, Josh Howard in 2003 and Chris Duhon in 2004. Boozer and Howard will be perennial All-Stars when Dr. Buss is actually HAVING grandchildren instead of dating them. Don’t look for Laker draft picks Brian Cook and Sasha Vujacic to appear on the resume of Buss fils anytime in the next millenium, either. Von Wafer, we also hardly knew ye.

Meanwhile, Von Wafer continues to fight for a position on the Denver Nuggets. And a position may be open:

J.R. Smith is one of the most talented players in the NBA....Unfortunately, talent alone is not enough make a player an NBA superstar. However, that doesn't mean the Nuggets don't have high hopes for their 22-year-old swingman. Whether those hopes become realized or not remains to be seen.

Smith has struggled for the majority of the exhibition season, and both Von Wafer and Bobby Jones are putting the fullcourt press on to steal his minutes.

More on Von Wafer:

Also intriguing is Wafer, who played sparingly for the Los Angeles Lakers as a rookie in 2005-06. The second-round draft choice spent most of last season with the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, played one game on a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and finished the season watching from the bench in Denver. But after averaging 24.2 points in summer-league play, perhaps the ex-Florida State guard will get a legit shot at contributing full-time.

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