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Read this, pretty insightful too
He didnt get along with JVG.
Spanoulis struggles with lack of playing time
Rockets rookie growing impatient with inactivity
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
RESOURCES
James Nielsen: Chronicle
Vassilis Spanoulis had his best workout against the Warriors last month.
SPANOULIS' MINUTES
SEASON HIGHS
23 vs. Golden State on Dec. 5
19 vs. LA Lakers on Dec. 23
17 vs. Washington on Nov. 22
SEASON LOW
Zero, many times including the last five games. (Spanoulis has played only a total of two minutes in the 11 games since Dec. 29.)
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Vassilis Spanoulis was right in the middle of the action that afternoon in Japan last summer, driving the lane, making slick passes, running the pick-and-roll, nailing 3-pointers to help Greece bring down Team USA at the World Basketball Championship.
Now, on most nights, he loosens up before the national anthem, then sits on the Rockets' bench.
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.
Now Yao is sidelined with a broken leg, and the rookie guard feels like he's hit bottom.
"I came here to help my team, to put my talent on it and do many things," Spanoulis said. "I am a patient person. But I don't want to stay on the bench for the season. I came here to work hard and to play in the games."
Spanoulis says he is puzzled why the Rockets drafted him and worked so hard to sign him to a three-year contract in the first place. He believes coach Jeff Van Gundy is trying to change him from a penetrating creator into a spot shooter.
"It is like asking a doctor to be a lawyer," Spanoulis said, smiling and shaking his head at his own analogy.
"Maybe they don't know what my strength is. Because every time I play, I don't play to my strength. I was used to playing good defense, pressing all over the court, running on offense, playing a lot of pick-and-rolls and creating. Now they want me to be a spot shooter, and this is a different experience. "
He was quoted over the weekend in a Greek newspaper as saying: "There's always the possibility that I might leave. It doesn't depend on me, but they can't keep me a prisoner either."
When asked in the Rockets' locker room, Spanoulis would not go that far.
"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.
"This is what I've told him," said Van Gundy. "It is absolute naivete about how hard this league is to think that it's going to be an easy ride for any young player. Especially a young player who is going to a pretty good team with pretty good perimeter players.
"What Billy's going through is exactly what I expected would happen when I spoke to him over the summer. His response was one that worried me. 'Basketball is basketball.' As I said to him, no, I played basketball. This is a whole different animal."
Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson likely could trade Spanoulis to a handful of other NBA teams today, but he isn't looking to do that.
"We like the player we signed," Dawson said. "But there's a process you go through. (Dirk) Nowitzki had to go through it. Look at guys like (Toronto's Jose) Calderon, (Orlando's Carlos) Arroyo. Even the late Drazen Petrovic, who they all look up to. It took him four years to make an impact. We want this kid here."
Spanoulis has averaged just 10 minutes in 18 of the Rockets' first 41 games. He's shooting 31.1 percent and has 20 assists and 18 turnovers. He has been out of the regular rotation since Dec. 14, when he shot 0-for-5 in 17 minutes at Golden State.
"I work to get better," he said. "But how do I get better if I do not play? I know I can play. I know what I can do. I can make great things here."
Van Gundy nods his head.
"(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."
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There are a few greek posters in a german forum that think Spanoulis could consider playing for the Spurs but I doubt they are insiders. I think we gonna hear somthing within the next few days.
Still love ya Bruce! 
