# Spanoulis feels deceived by Rockets



## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

> "The GM of the team was in Athens frequently, they were calling me on the phone every day," says Spanoulis of Rockets GM Carroll Dawson before he signed with Houston. "So much money, so much attention, so much interest -- just for me to play for one minute or not at all?"
> 
> Spanoulis, who teammates and coaches started calling "Billy" in training camp, suggested that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy and upper management may not be on the same page.
> 
> "Even now, they approach me all the time, they tell me they believe in me, they encourage me, they show me that they love me," said Spanoulis. "When I talked to Van Gundy, he told me that the GM chose the players and not him. 'I'm just coaching the team' he said. This sounds like a lack of communication between him and the administration, like they're playing ego games."


Link


----------



## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

I feel bad for him, he left Greece (where he was a super star) and was approached with what he thought was an opportunity, and now he isn't given the chance to show himself. I don't blame him.


----------



## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Wang Zhizhi was also a superstar back in China and played awesome against 96 American national team even when he was only 16 years old but he was on the bench in most times throughout his NBA career. I don't see much difference here. 

I mean, if he was really as good as hyped, JVG would have let him play, JVG is not insane and blind. And I guess JVG and the Rockets GM probably know more than we do


----------



## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

kisstherim said:


> Wang Zhizhi was also a superstar back in China and played awesome against 96 American national team even when he was only 16 years old but he was on the bench in most times throughout his NBA career. I don't see much difference here.
> 
> I mean, if he is really as good as hyped, JVG will let him play, JVG is not insane and blind. And I guess JVG and the Rockets GM probably know more than we do


the GM still likes v-span. its jeff that doesnt.


----------



## yaontmac (Jul 5, 2006)

*GET RID OF JVG!!!!!!!!* :cheers:


----------



## hroz (Mar 4, 2006)

I feel bad for him he has talent I think JVG doesnt think he fits into the team though.


----------



## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

> Spanoulis also said that Van Gundy doesn't know what kind of player that he is and that he wants to make him a "spot shooter", which he says is not his game.


Seems pretty immature. Van Gundy does know what kind of player he is. Unfortunately, this team doesn't need a turnover-prone penetrator of that caliber. You can't be the tenth-best player in the side and expect to get to play just the way you want. Look at Howard and Snyder.

Also unfortunate is Van Gundy lack of creativity. A great coach would probably be able to make better use of guys like Spanoulis, Snyder and Wells.


----------



## edyzbasketball (Nov 16, 2005)

I feel bad for VSpan. This sucks. That's why I sometimes hate the NBA...


----------



## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

I just went to clutchfans and read the whole article, this is the last paragraph of that article:



> I'm an egoist and a stubborn person and I'll fight to the end for any chance I can get. *If I was in a different team, I could even have been "rookie of the year"*. So it's a matter of luck and coincidence as well. It's not right to give up on your ambitions so easily. Even the greatest players in history had difficult moments in their careers.


why does this tone sound so familiar to me? I mean, the player we traded for Skip


----------



## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

Mike James? did he sound like that?


----------



## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

kisstherim said:


> I just went to clutchfans and read the whole article...


Wow, I just read the whole thing too... This guy is deluded. He wants to create rather than have teammates (ie T-Mac and Yao) create open shots for him? He wants a leading role on the team? Management are only keeping him to save from losing face? Criticizing his coach? Referring to himself in the third person? Rookie of the Year? Unbelievable. I just hope this has been embellished in the translation.


----------



## Kapitalistsvin (Mar 30, 2006)

Well... given loads of playing time he just might have been in the top three this year. It's not that strong a crop.


----------



## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

Let's get serious here for a minute. VSpan would not be rookie of the year if he played for another team. I don't care how many minutes he plays. Houston has one of the worst PG spots in the league and this guy isn't even the #2 guy.

I like his game but, it needs at least two more years at the NBA level even if he isn't playing everyday. There are many foreign players who have been drafted and played pretty well in their first season. (Nowitzki, Bargnani, Kukoc)

I went to Bellaire in the late 80's and we had a high school superstar named Elmer Bennett. This guy was Mr. HISD and a DIAPER Dandy. He went to Notre Dame where he started and was drafted by Atlanta in the early 90's. I thought this guy was gonna be a star but, he never panned out as an NBA player. When you see a guy like that play everyday it's hard to understand why things didn't workout.

All this means for VSpan is keep working on your game. The opportunity will come and who knows, it may come sooner than later if we keep losing.


----------



## Kapitalistsvin (Mar 30, 2006)

But even if the PG spot is weak in Houston, then this team isn't gonna experiment with a rookie as a starter. Rockets gotta win now... look at BobCats, they let Ammor play like **** day in day out... and he's now finally starting to find a little bit of rythm.


----------



## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

the third person thing might not be that weird. i know in some countries its normal to refer to yourself in third person. im not sure if greece is one of them though.

i think jeff does an awful job coaching to his players and needs to learn to be flexible and coach an actual offense. vspan needs to remove his head from his ***. they are both acting stupid. ive said it before, i dont think jeff is the right coach for this team going forward.


----------



## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

I still like Billy but yah, with an attitude like that he's better off playing for the Bobcats. He should start looking into how he can improve his own game.


----------



## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

> "It is far too early to say I want to leave," he said. "But I get a lot of calls. It is hard for me. I have 10 million people in Greece and people all over Europe — they expected me to play and to succeed."
> 
> So, too, do the Rockets, who gave Spanoulis $3.7 million in guaranteed money for this season and next. But their timetable is different. The Rockets see him as someone who will be valuable in the future, and he wants to play right now.
> 
> ...





> "(Spanoulis) says, '_I was McGrady back home._' Great. McGrady is McGrady here," Van Gundy said.
> 
> "I feel badly for him. He feels he was misled. Frankly, he's been his own worst enemy in many ways. Some of it is excuses. His turnovers have been high; his fouls have been high; his shooting percentage has been low. I would rather anybody start out with self-evaluation — what can I do better? — versus lash out and blame.
> 
> "Because I'm not playing him now doesn't mean he won't play in the future or we don't feel he could be a good player. I think he's allowed his disappointment to go to discouragement, which has, at times, stunted his improvement. We'll see. We'll see."


Link


----------



## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

cornholio said:


> Link



I completely agree with what JVG said in this article.:clap: 




> (Spanoulis) says, 'I was McGrady back home.'


Did McGrady get much PT in his rookie year?


----------



## Legend-Like (Mar 25, 2006)

http://rockets.realgm.com/



> Vassilis Spanoulis left Athens and his hometown fans with Panathinaikos to make the step up to the NBA, figuring his emotion, his energy, his overwhelming confidence would carry him straight to the top on the game's biggest stage.
> 
> Spanoulis came to Houston to join Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady and, in his mind, put the Rockets over the top.
> 
> ...


----------



## hroz (Mar 4, 2006)

*Re: V-Span says he wants more minutes*

Considering the lack of penetration we are getting from PG why not see how he goes with more minutes?

His TOs have been way too high but he has ability.


----------



## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

*Re: V-Span says he wants more minutes*

I voted yeah, but not at the expense of the win. I could care less if he develops during the course of the year. If he will provide something on the court and not cause us to lose.. heck why not try him out a bit more.


----------



## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

Caption time:biggrin:


----------



## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

I really like Spanoulis' game. Yeah, he's not ready for big minutes yet and he needs to work on his shot. But that doesn't mean he can't be starting for this team by the beginning of next year! 

JVG is riding Rafer because of his outside shooting (36% 3PT overall), but even a stubborn, predictable coach is going to realize sooner or later that Rafer won't cut it on a championship team. Not with his play in 4th quarters and absolute lack of basketball IQ. A big playmaker who can play defense is a huge ASSET in this league... though with his ego, I don't know if Spanoulis can continue to work on his game with no real time minutes. IMO this won't result in a trade but it's never good to have a guy building up remorse on the bench. Best option for VSPan is to develop a somewhat consistent jumper, because JVG isn't going to risk a high-turnover PG on the floor when he has TMac and Yao to create shots for others.


----------



## edyzbasketball (Nov 16, 2005)

I feel bad for Billy. Rafer is shooting like ****, and Lucas isn't getting playing time. Only option: Billy.

I mean, WHY THE **** WON'T JVG PLAY OTHER GUYS?


----------



## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

Ok, V-Span deserves more minutes, but that's not the accent he should be saying. He can't demand his minutes by saying he is the hero of the team, he is the missing piece blah blah blah. A rookie just can't say that. I am sure there is reason why JVG doesn't want to play Spanoulis. Either way I hope this situation resolved. It is really ugly right now.


----------



## edyzbasketball (Nov 16, 2005)

I agree with you on that, but getting a guaranteed 3.6 million, 3 year contract, and no playing time? As much as you love to do nothing and get paid, you're getting paid to play basketball, your biggest love of all time...

500 posts.


----------



## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

> Coach Jeff Van Gundy said the issue of Vassilis Spanoulis going public with his complaints about lack of playing time is a dead issue.
> 
> "I just found it interesting how he interpreted what I said," Van Gundy said. "I never told him he had to be a spot shooter. He was told to improve his game. He sort of omitted that fact in his dissertation to the Greek media."
> 
> ...


Link


----------



## Cornholio (Feb 13, 2005)

> Greek guard Vassilis Spanoulis responded to the recent debate about his playing time with "his best practice of the season" on Tuesday, a source with the team told ClutchFans.
> 
> It remains to be seen if it's a sign of improved play to come from the rookie or just a fluke, but it did catch the team's eye and couldn't come at a better time for him personally.


Link


----------

