Casspi "I'm ready for a bigger team."

[Bac2Basics]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1163255.html

Omri Casspi, having just completed his rookie season in the NBA, can look forward to telling some stories of his own. Once upon a time it was he and his Maccabi Tel Aviv teammates who were listening to Anthony Parker talk about the big time.
Parker once discussed how in his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers he didn't play for two months and heard from reporters that he had been injured, even though he was healthy. So he spoke to the front office and got unsatisfactory answers.
In the case of Parker, currently a starter for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are galloping toward a championship, he was a marginal bench player at the time, while Casspi impressed the American sports scene with his breakout debut.
Within four months the Sacramento rookie, coming off a ravaging summer league, took the window of opportunity presented to him with injuries to Francisco Garcia and Kevin Martin. In that span, he went from being an anonymous 23rd pick of the draft - anonymous in the United States, that is - to a member of the all-rookie team at the NBA All-Star Game. He was the first off the bench for the Kings.
But when Casspi returned from All-Star Week, his minutes dropped off significantly. Coach Paul Westphal spoke of a rookie barrier; he said Casspi looked "worn down." But the Israeli, who was practicing as usual and didn't feel particularly tired, didn't accept the explanation. Nor did his teammates seem to.
"The way they treated Omri Casspi began to change precisely with his first place selection on ESPN's weekly parade," says Sam Amick, a former writer for the Sacramento Bee who is now the head basketball writer for nba.fanhouse.com. "No one around the team understood why Westphal wasn't playing Casspi. The Kings' explanation sounded like an excuse."
And so Casspi became a sideshow, despite his impressive contribution (see chart). Meanwhile, the Kings got rid of Martin in February and focused on Evans, who was trying to achieve a 20-5-5 as a rookie (20 ppg, five rpg and five apg).
A symbol of the situation came last week against Houston. Evans was standing on the line trying to make two free throws that would give him the achievement only accomplished by LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson. Casspi moved toward center court with his head held down despondently, while Martin - who had been dealt to Houston - looked contemplative as if he were completely somewhere else.
"Westphal not only cut down his minutes but sent Casspi conflicting messages that just confused him," says a close associate of the Israeli. "He told the papers he wasn't satisfied that any of his candidates for small forward [Casspi, Donte Green and Andres Nocioni)]had secured their place for next season, but he told Casspi he was building on him.
"Within the final two months of the season, Casspi went from the Kings' small forward of the future to a question mark," says the basketball reporter.
If that's the case, Casspi shouldn't take it hard. His agent has received around seven offers from other NBA teams this season who are ready to make a deal with Sacramento. The forward also hinted to the press: "I'm ready for a bigger team."

[SVThawk]

I believe it's worth noting that this has been discussed on another Kings forum which boasts an israeli population and they have informed us that this newspaper isn't exactly reliable and anti-Macabbi and it's players. I believe a full interview was posted by a competeing israeli newspaper which pretty much says the opposite of what this article writes.

[UKF]

^ It didn't sound like something Omri would say. I've been able to speak with him personally and he seems to love the people he is playing with.

Maybe the paper used Noc's quote in place of Omri's...

[RoyalCourtJestr]

No way would Omri say that. No way. I understand being upset over playing time. But we can't lose Omri, not now. :_:

[KF10]

Yeah, I looked up other King forums regarding this, they called it BS.

Hopefully, it's nothing to be worried about.

[wiltchamberlain]

I'm not sure what to believe. Haaretz is a very respected paper in Israel, in fact it's the countries oldest daily newspaper. You might compare it to our New York Times, on one hand well respected, on the other it's disliked by many because of a perceived liberal bias. Anyway my point is I doubt very much any of the quotes are manufactured, that of course doesn't mean they couldn't be taken out of context.

[KingInExile]

^^I would also question whether there might be language translation issues (assuming the posted article was translated to English from Hebrew), specifically with the last part. I can fully understand a comment of "being in a bigger role" and would not think that out of character with any rookie. His other comments seem plausible and not all that controversial.

Overall I don't see anything in this article as all that out of line and nothing to be overly concerned about. He is a skilled player finishing his rookie season in which he started off pretty hot then struggled down the stretch. Were those struggles because of him hitting the "rookie wall" or due to him not adapting to the number of changes in playing time and role throughout the season? I would guess that there was a combination of those two factors. Regardless, I doubt he would have had a different experience on any other young team...and he would have found himself buried on the bench had he been drafted by any team who typically would draft in the 23 range (ie, a good and deep team).

[perezident]

Casspi does have an attitude problem. Maybe not in a negative way but he comes off arrogant. Meaning maybe because he was use to being the man in Italy. He has a swagger that I like though...so what im saying is I wouldnt totally dismiss this article because he CAN have SOME weight to it. In all, if it is true, I think he's just talking out of frustration

[Wolfay]

Would Casspi prefer to play in bigger market, or somewhere where there's a more significant Jewish population? Probably, but doesn't necessarily mean he wants to leave. I think he's content where he is for now. Being the first person from your country to play in the NBA is a big deal, and I don't think he wants to get too greedy, too fast.

I didn't read the article, but more likely than not it's more speculation than factual journalism.

[wiltchamberlain]

Well I think there's a couple of things we need to remember. Number one, and remember I like Omri as much as anyone here and he has seemed to me as nothing less than a gentleman, we don't really know the man that well. What I mean is unless you know him personally the only thing you (and by this I'm referring to everyone here as I don't think anyone here would claim to know him personally) know him from is what you learn through the media. Most professional athletes are so well manicured and cultivated no a days, it's very difficult to know just who they are in reality.

Omri might be a bad guy or he might be a good guy, I guess I lean towards good because I don't have any real evidence to the contrary, but that's my point. Without any real evidence either way it's hard to make an accurate judgment.

As far as the article goes it does seem to engage in a fair amount of speculation, although probably no more than most American papers. Also the quote itself seems funny, "I'm ready for a bigger team." I'm not even really sure what this is supposed to mean. Does it mean he wants a bigger role? Does it mean he wants on a team in a bigger market? Does it mean he wants a better team? Maybe KIE is right, it does seem like it could be a translation issue (not that I know anything about Hebrew) if only for the fact that the quote is so ambiguous, it doesn't seem to really mean anything.

I'll finish this up by reiterating what I wrote in my last post, Haaretz is a respected paper. It's very unlikely that the quote is fabricated, but it is possible it's taken out of context, or as KIE suggested some sort of translation error. Also I read a few of Yaniv Orgad's other stories and they don't seem particularly biased.

[Dustin5566]

Trouble maker

[_SRV_]

* Better translation would be "everything is possible, I've matured more to play for any team, including elite teams", it was a response to a question asking if there's a possibility of changing teams during the summer.
* Haaretz is a very respected news paper from political POV, I wouldn't say that on its sports section, it's not the top of the priority list for its clientele.
* The article clearly states a rift with Westphal.

[KingInExile]

Thanks for that perspective SRV. Your translation definitely adds more to the context of his statement.

I don't doubt there was/is a rift. That's natural when you have a young player in a support position that is arguably overloaded and he loses minutes at the same time he is clearly struggling on the court. I would expect that from any competitive person. The task is for him and Westphal to fill the rift...or just pull the trigger on a trade to move him for other parts.

[pillwenney]

Yeah that translation the question that brought it about completely puts it into a different context. So thanks for that.

Still, I wouldn't be against moving Omri as part of a bigger package for a big name player--but I've felt that way about most of this team for a long time.

[sl1mshad33]

I am slightly incredulous about these 'comments'. This paper is known more for its polemics than for its journalistic standards. Although I doubt that they would manufacture this quote, I would not be surprised if it was taken out of context or truncated in order to make it seem like Omri wanted out of Sacramento (i.e., to generate some degree of controversy).

[sl1mshad33]

Casspi does have an attitude problem. Maybe not in a negative way but he comes off arrogant. Meaning maybe because he was use to being the man in Italy. He has a swagger that I like though...so what im saying is I wouldnt totally dismiss this article because he CAN have SOME weight to it. In all, if it is true, I think he's just talking out of frustration

First off, he never played Italy.

Second, he is an intense, emotional player, and this is a pretty major facet of his game. I don't think this makes him arrogant, certainly not necessarily arrogant enough to publicly insist on a trade. Maybe he is just more passionate than most other NBA players, but as you said, why should this be a bad thing?

[ICMTM]

a couple things:

1. ALL TEAMS not headed to the playoffs "tank." It's not in the form of we're trying to lose every game possible, but it's in the form of lineup tinkering.

2. Donte Greene and Omri Casspi seem to play the same position

3. Omri beat Greene out IMO of his starting position.

4. Greene played more, or as much as, Omri post all star break.

Conclusion:

Omri's minutes dwindling was more to do with lineup tinkering than it was anything else. Casspi on some nights looked like he had all-star potential and it's EASY to see how he fits in on this team. Greene on the other hand does not have a role on the squad, and he needed to define it through playing. Unfortunately it came at the cost of Casspi's playing time mostly. Udrih was playing too well. Greene hasn't faired well at the 4 to get him extended minutes. We traded for Landry, too. You have to get Greene in the game because we're at a point in his development where he needs a role.

In order to reward someone with PT or make a decision on moving a player you need to be pretty sure what their ability level is. I still don't think we have an idea of what Donte Greene will be in 4 years. We have a good indication of where Casspi will be. I think really that's the main reason for the PT issues. Since it would probably end in catastrophe if the coach/management/owners were to admit such a thing the front of earned PT is probably puzzling to Omri.

That's my take. He's better than Donte Greene and seems to have a higher ceiling that Francisco Garcia. Hopefully he'll figure this out sooner than later.