Bonzi Wells, the prize of the late free-agent pool, agreed on Wednesday to a two-year, $5-million deal with the Houston Rockets.
Wells, a ninth-year swingman out of Ball State, turned down the Sacramento Kings’ five-year, $36-million offer earlier this summer, apparently finding it insufficient compensation for his 23 and 12 performance against the mighty San Antonio Spurs during the first round of last year’s playoffs. But Wells has a history of moodiness, recalcitrance, and volatility. He’s been suspended at least three times during his career, once for cursing at a coach, once for spitting on another player, and once for his involvement in a post-game brawl with the Golden State Warriors. So, although several teams, including Detroit, Minnesota, and Charlotte, expressed interest, they apparently found the combination of Wells’ bad attitude and his overvalued sense of self-worth (he was fishing for $50 million over five years) unwelcoming.
Enter Tracy McGrady …
… the Rockets’ star and friend to Wells. T-Mac apparently went out of his way to court Wells, convincing him that, even at bargain-basement prices, Houston was the right place for him to be.
Attitude problems aside, Wells could be a great fit for Houston and vice versa. Despite having talent to burn in McGrady, Yao Ming, and pointman Rafer Alston, not to mention a great defensive-minded coach in Jeff Van Gundy, for years the Rockets have lacked any real defensive presence. That changed with the acquisition of Team USA defensive specialist Shane Battier earlier this summer and will only improve with the hard-thumping physical presence of Wells.
So if Wells can step up and perform the way he’s capable (which he should, considering he’ll be playing for a more lucrative contract), and if he can make nice with the volatile Van Gundy, this could very well be the Rockets’ year. McGrady, Yao, Battier, Wells, Alston? If our guys in Houston can’t make a run deep into the playoffs this year, it might never happen.
This article appears in September 22 • 2006.