Omri Casspi: your initial impressions?

sl1mshad33 · Post #1 » by **sl1mshad33** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 6:55 am

Hi guys, I am wondering what are your initial impressions of Omri Casspi? What has he done well? What does he need to improve on? What's your outlook on him on for the next to years? Do you think he'll be able to help the Kings? Does he bring anything to the table that team might not have or is weak in right now? Thanks!

down_el_road · Post #2 » by **down_el_road** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 8:02 am

He definitely is a work horse. In the summer games hes been diving for lose balls and just showing hustle and compassion when he steps on the court. Through out the games he shown us a consistent 3pt game which has really suprised me. Hes also proven that he know how to find the open man on fast and slow breaks. He needs to improve on knowing where he needs to be on the court and needs to adjust to the players in the NBA as well. I think Omri has a good chance at getting minutes and contributing to the best of his abilities. He no doubt brings hustle and toughness to this team which is what the kings have needed for a very long time.

SacKingZZZ · Post #3 » by **SacKingZZZ** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 8:46 am

He's a lot better with the ball than I expected. He handles it pretty well. He looks somewhere in between Andris Nocioni and a poor mans Hedo Turkoglu to me. My hope is that he can settle somewhere around a Tayshuan Prince type of player.

sackings916 · Post #4 » by **sackings916** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 11:52 am

I think he has potential to be a very good all around player, but I dont think he's ready to be in the rotation at this point. He needs to improve his offensive game, but he looks like he can do a little of everything all while being a hustle/energy guy.

cdt3 · Post #5 » by **cdt3** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 2:24 pm

He will get some mins this year like Donte's role last year probably not more than 10min a game. If we didn't have Noc he would have a larger role now but with us starting Evans as a rookie with JT in his 2nd year and Hawes in his 3rd I doubt the Kings can afford big mins from another young starter. Casspi can definitely grow into a very good NBA player one day.

UKF · Post #6 » by **UKF** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 5:11 pm

I think he's got potential to be a nice piece for this team in the future. He won't start off with a whole lot of minutes but he will get some and I think he will end up getting more as time goes on. He's got a real good shot and like most Euro players, has got the fundamentals down.

deNIEd · Post #7 » by **deNIEd** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 6:27 pm

I have no impressions until after players play in the NBA.

The summer league is worthless imo

AnDrOiDKing4 · Post #8 » by **AnDrOiDKing4** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 8:19 pm

over hyped.

Website · Post #9 » by **Nicky Nix Nook** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 9:04 pm

AnDrOiDKing4 wrote:over hyped.

Didn't know there was "hype" for a 23rd pick.

sl1mshad33 · Post #10 » by **sl1mshad33** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 9:26 pm

AnDrOiDKing4 wrote:over hyped.

Lol...overhyped? 23rd pick? Unlike a lot of young athletic American players, at least he has shown that he can produce at a high level

I don't know if he's going to be a great, good or lousy NBA player, but I am not sure how one calls him overhyped at this point.

sl1mshad33 · Post #11 » by **sl1mshad33** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 9:34 pm

Personally, I think Omri can be a very productive player for the Kings. I think the two things he needs, that he doesn't get so much of in Israel, are: 1) good coaching and 2) a good trainer/strength training regiment. Over the last few years, he has been consistently one of the most productive players in the world for his age group, finishing in 4th place for the FIBA European Young player of the year award last year and has put up decent numbers as a 19-21yr old playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of the top non-NBA teams in the world. I think that so far, he has been getting by on hustle/effort and natural talent; but having watched the Israeli national team play for many years, I think that the quality of coaching in Israel is very poor (in terms of teaching fundamentals/skills) and that it won't be completely possible to judge Casspi until he has had some time working with competent NBA coaches. I think that probably for the better part of the next year, you're going to see him relying on hustle and tenacity and probably only in the second half of this year and his second year, will we be able to see what kind of potential he has.

down_el_road · Post #12 » by **down_el_road** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 9:40 pm

AnDrOiDKing4 wrote:over hyped.

I think he was talking about the summer games?

Cruel_Ruin · Post #13 » by **Cruel_Ruin** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 11:56 pm

During this Summer League, Omri has shown himself to be a very raw talent. We knew the intangibles would be there like the hustle and fearlessness, which has earned him a lot of Andres Nocioni comparisons. But I think Omri has much more skills then what originally met the eye. He is comfortable handling the ball, especially off ot he pick and roll, with good court vision and a smooth stepback jumper. It is not consistent yet, but I think with hard work and filling out his frame he can become a Hedo Turkoglu type player. A lot of people would scoff at that comparison but forget that Hedo didn't become HEDO until this last year and half. Omri plays a very similar style, he just isn't as good yet.

I don't expect him to be a contributer next year, but I can see him blossoming after maybe a year of riding the pine, working hard in practice to improve his skills, and then playing spot minutes gaining experience. He could very well be our future starting SF because his skillset fits very well in between an Evans/Martin backcourt and Thompson/Hawes frontcourt, with his ability to be an extra ballhandler/playmaker and spotting up/moving without the ball according to what is needed at the time.

I think being the first Israeli in the NBA will give him a serious edge when it comes to motivation to get better (Nice NYT article on Casspi: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/sport ... .html?8dpc ), so I have some expectations out of Omri Casspi. I just don't expect any contributions in the near future, but that is what rebuilding is about, developing raw talent and stocking up to make a run in the future.

D-Rock · Post #14 » by **D-Rock** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:48 am

From what I saw of him in summer league, he was a hell of a lot faster than I expected. Also, when I saw him handle the ball, he reminded me more of Manu than Hedo.

perezident · Post #15 » by **perezident** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:24 am

Boy i dont know...i compared him to Tom Gogliotta BUT if he develops into what his ceiling looks to be...i think we can have the second coming of a not so Detliff Shrimp

91siccx · Post #16 » by **91siccx** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:16 pm

tom gogliotta ???? lol

brassviews · Post #17 » by **brassviews** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:52 pm

AnDrOiDKing4 wrote:over hyped.

How can he be overhyped when no one has been talking about him? :lol:

AnDrOiDKing4 · Post #18 » by **AnDrOiDKing4** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:47 pm

Sorry to dissapoint the fan boys. But even in summerleague he has looked slow and average.

RoyalCourtJestr · Post #19 » by **RoyalCourtJestr** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:02 am

I think a lot of the major weaknesses we saw were a combination of rookie problems and translation (to the NBA) problems. Once he gets his feet set, I think he can be a fine back-up.