'Nilla Wafer

Les Digits drop Head for Wafer

We've discussed Luther Head before - it turns out that the real beneficiary of McGrady's injury may not be Head, who's been on the bench, or shooting 1 for 8 as he did on Monday, but rather the enigmatic Von Wafer (not to be confused with Hosens favorite Vin Baker).

Vakeaton Quamar 'Von' Wafer, affectionately known as 'Nilla, is a 4th year SG out of Florida State; He's been on 5 teams in that time, including Portland last year (who knew?). He's barely played as a pro, but has regularly lit up the summer league with his sweet stroke. He scored 18 and 15 on the 5th and 8th, the 18 point outburst being (by far) a career high. He had a monster pre-season to make the Rockets, and seems to be getting minutes for now. That's about all we know!

Judgment: Wafer's certainly playing better than Head, so for the short term, he seems like an OK gamble. We think there are more reliable options, however.

Bye Bye BaBoone

Les Digits cuts Huskie Boone, snaps up L. Head

 

Josh Boone - a fine UConn Huskie, discussed here - has been dropped. This looked like a potential breakout year for J-Boo, but injuries and the emergence of Brook Lopez as a quite reliable post option in NJ have dimmed his prospects. He should be back in a week or two, and will be a good source of REBs, FG%, and even a few BLK when he does. He's a terrible FT shooter, and is fouly. He's certainly worth keeping an eye on when he returns. Or just enjoy his myspace page! By the way, what ever happened to Nenad Krstic?

 

Luther Head, in his 4th year out of Illinois, is nothing more than a 3pt shooter. He's mostly been just DNP'ing on the Houston bench this year, as the Rockets had plenty of 3pt shooters on the roster, including new additions Ron Artest and Brent Barry. However, Barry and T-Mac are injured, which appeared to give L-Head the SG job, almost by default. And Head responded - playing 41 minutes, he put up and impressive 21/4/5 line. He shot terribly in his second game as a starter (1 for 7), and Shane Battier's return moved Artest to SG and put Head back on the bench. He may get a few more matchup-based starts while the Rockets are shorthanded, but we don't see any lasting value here. Fun fact: Both Boone and Head wear #2.

Judgment: We don't think this helps Les Digits much in the short term - and Boone has significantly more long-term upside. It was a reasonable add when it appeared Luther was going to start regularly in T-Mac's absence, but already looks less promising.