Casspi airs his Dirty laundry!

[raz]

interesting quotes from casspi's official column

hi guys
take a look at omri's state of mind (released today on israeli website and will be published soon on his website)

sourse: http://www.one.co.il/Article/177416.html

this is not the exact translation, but i tried my best...

- the current situation for me is not like used to be . the coach is making some experiments and exercise new things, and the sure thing is that i'm not on his plans.

- coach informed us that on the remaining games he wants to test line-ups for next season and it's easy to figure out that i'm not on his plans.

- I know there are teams (among them contender teams that will fight in the upcoming play-off) that are intersted in me for next season. I hope to play next year on a team that will play team-basketball and will apperciate my skills as a player and as a teammate.

- I still don't know for sure whether i play or not for the kings next year. I'm under contract, i really love that fans, the city, the owners, and the GM. things doesn't work and it's legitimate.

- Sacramento was the team that gave me the opportunity to play in the NBA and it will be selfish to say that i want to leave, but i'm confident i'm good enough to play, whether in the kings or in other team. meanwhile i'm trying my best to be in good shape in case coach will call me from the bench in the last 6 games of the season.

- from the 1st day at sacramento i tried my best to be positive, but unfortunatlly this year i didn't progressed in all parameters like i wanted, and everybody can see this.

- my situation isn't ideal. there are teams that fits me better, and since i have great relationship with our players and staff, i hope they will appreciate me enough to let me go to a place where i can play. things that don't kill you only makes you stronger, and i learned it on several situations in the past.


my personal thoughts: omri isn't lacking of self awareness, and the emotions you usually see from him on court are translated into words this time. i love the fact that he says that he knows he dissapointed himself this season, in terms of progression. between the lines you can see there isn't a love story between him and coach westphal (the only one that he doesn't mention on the 4th paragraph)

 

[Joshua Halickman]

From his official site.

http://www.casspi18.com/index.php/page/43.html

Read my reaction, The Sports Rabbi http://thesportsrabbi.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/omri-casspi-dirty-laundry/ or http://israelsportsradio.com/

I think this is a huge mistake on his part.

 

[Sac.1989]

Dont see how he cant be in the plans for our future. We have a tough rotation now with Cisco back and playing well and DMC and Dally both starting

 

[babaganush]

Joshua - i read your reaction and it seems you took it too far away.

He says that he doesn't feel that he is in the coach's plans - and it seems like it. He was actually quite polite and mentioned that he is not eager to leave.
In case he is not in coach's plans for the next year - he should go. In the end of the day it is his career and he needs to pay the rent

Is he a starter? Like you mentioned - not sure at all. Is he decent NBA player? Yes again.
Perosanlly - i fail to underdtand the approach of our coach to bench players for long periods of time. I hated when he did it to Green and i hate it now with Caspi as well. This is definatly not the way to promote young talent. And I can understand Omri is little frustrated (imagine yourself in his position)

 

[Bricklayer]

Not exactly perfect timing for a play me or trade me demand. Seems like international players often complain in their home medias first. Then again over the years we have seen how muckraking and biased the home country presses of many international players can be, so you never know.

In any case despite vague statements hinting at stuff like this from JT and Donte during their darkest periods this year, not to mention Daly's agent showing up in town to complain back around Christmas,, this is one of the reason I have my doubts whether Casspi will be here next year. Lot of arguments why you keep him, but in the end I have a hard time seeing us not trying to patch that position with a strong vet, and most likely a defensive vet -- its our biggest remaining Achilles (besides youth). And if we do that, Cisco (vet leadership, spot shooting, willing roleplayer) and Donte (defensive roleplayer, chemistry/enthusiasm on the bench) have made considerably better arguments that they could accept and be good lockerroom guys/glue guys even if they were pushed down the bench behind a mainline starter. Omri chafes. He has always chafed. He has a less defined skillset in any case, which makes it harder to apply him in spots the way you can a shooter or defender just when you need a little burst of "x", but the bigger issue is the impression that he is one of those all or nothing guys. Either a guy who is going to start/get major consistent minutes -- and not just minutes, but he wants his shots -- or a guy who isn't going to be comfortable or productive in a lesser role. He probably needs to either play 20-25+, or not at all. And if we bring in that major stabilizing vet, those kind of minutes aren't going to be there.

 

[Section 101]

I think this has to do more with Donte not being under contract and Omri being under contract for next year. They need to see more of Donte to determine if they want to bring him back. And gee we have only had the whole season to evaluate, but a certain coach blew that one. I bet Petrie had a conversation with Westfail.

 

[raz]

Not exactly perfect timing for a play me or trade me demand. Seems like international players often complain in their home medias first. Then again over the years we have seen how muckraking and biased the home country presses of many international players can be, so you never know.

In any case despite vague statements hinting at stuff like this from JT and Donte during their darkest periods this year, not to mention Daly's agent showing up in town to complain back around Christmas,, this is one of the reason I have my doubts whether Casspi will be here next year. Lot of arguments why you keep him, but in the end I have a hard time seeing us not trying to patch that position with a strong vet, and most likely a defensive vet -- its our biggest remaining Achilles (besides youth). And if we do that, Cisco (vet leadership, spot shooting, willing roleplayer) and Donte (defensive roleplayer, chemistry/enthusiasm on the bench) have made considerably better arguments that they could accept and be good lockerroom guys/glue guys even if they were pushed down the bench behind a mainline starter. Omri chafes. He has always chafed. He has a less defined skillset in any case, which makes it harder to apply him in spots the way you can a shooter or defender just when you need a little burst of "x", but the bigger issue is the impression that he is one of those all or nothing guys. Either a guy who is going to start/get major consistent minutes -- and not just minutes, but he wants his shots -- or a guy who isn't going to be comfortable or productive in a lesser role. He probably needs to either play 20-25+, or not at all And if we bring in that major stabilizing vet, those kind of minutes aren't going to be there.

sounds like PW tactics....
now seriously i agree about the fact that there's no room for all our current SF's if we will bring a vet SF.
my point is that the main problem is the way PW treats the bench players. if there's no hirarchy players can't adjust themselfs and built their game "around" thos minutes.
for example, if you know you'lle play 30 min per game on a regular basis, you will know you will have to take atleast 5-10 shots per game, no matter what your abilities are.
and if you know which players will be on the court with you most of the time, the chemistry will be better and faster.

 

[LWP777]

Well, he's not a very good NBA player. I've always felt he played selfishly on the court, caring more about his statistics, than the good of the team. His comments support my opinion. The team is playing well lately and actually winning. It's not the right time to be bitching about playing time.

 

[DesertFox]

It's understandable because none of the 3 are noticeably better than the other. If you're Casspi and seeing Darnell Jackson playing 10 minutes when he would never see the court for any other team, it's easy to get frustrated.
It's tough to get DNP's with fringe rotation guys playing, but Casspi needs to realize he's a fringe rotation guy too, and his potential is not the kind where you need to give him minutes. In a vacuum Garcia should probably be riding the pine, but his salary suggests he'll be here for a while, so he plays unless the young guys are markedly better (they're not).

 

[Geoff]

Not exactly perfect timing for a play me or trade me demand. Seems like international players often complain in their home medias first. Then again over the years we have seen how muckraking and biased the home country presses of many international players can be, so you never know.

In any case despite vague statements hinting at stuff like this from JT and Donte during their darkest periods this year, not to mention Daly's agent showing up in town to complain back around Christmas,, this is one of the reason I have my doubts whether Casspi will be here next year. Lot of arguments why you keep him, but in the end I have a hard time seeing us not trying to patch that position with a strong vet, and most likely a defensive vet -- its our biggest remaining Achilles (besides youth). And if we do that, Cisco (vet leadership, spot shooting, willing roleplayer) and Donte (defensive roleplayer, chemistry/enthusiasm on the bench) have made considerably better arguments that they could accept and be good lockerroom guys/glue guys even if they were pushed down the bench behind a mainline starter. Omri chafes. He has always chafed. He has a less defined skillset in any case, which makes it harder to apply him in spots the way you can a shooter or defender just when you need a little burst of "x", but the bigger issue is the impression that he is one of those all or nothing guys. Either a guy who is going to start/get major consistent minutes -- and not just minutes, but he wants his shots -- or a guy who isn't going to be comfortable or productive in a lesser role. He probably needs to either play 20-25+, or not at all. And if we bring in that major stabilizing vet, those kind of minutes aren't going to be there.

While I agree with your analysis, I didn't read it as a "play me/trade me" demand more than as a straight assessment of what he thinks the situation is. I didn't detect any rancour or anger or anything like that.

 

[ESP47]

Well, he's not a very good NBA player. I've always felt he played selfishly on the court, caring more about his statistics, than the good of the team. His comments support my opinion. The team is playing well lately and actually winning. It's not the right time to be bitching about playing time.

How does he play selfishly? Seems to me like all he ever does is spot shoot open 3's and tip in misses by our other players. It's not like he's hogging the ball and taking bad shots all the time.

The only thing that scares me is that Casspi is the only real SF on the team that can rebound. Cisco and Donte can play 50 minutes between each other and come up with 3 rebounds. They both play better D than Casspi but neither can shoot from 3 as well. Since Donte can never pull his head out of his you know what on a consistant basis, I say keep Garcia and Casspi.

 

[asakkings]

There is no way the kings will trade Casspi especially with the move to Anaheim coming up. We all know how popular he is in the Jewish community and with the large Jewish community in the LA area it would be one way for the Kings to build a fan base.

 

[raz]

There is no way the kings will trade Casspi especially with the move to Anaheim coming up. We all know how popular he is in the Jewish community and with the large Jewish community in the LA area it would be one way for the Kings to build a fan base.

don't think DNP's will draw attendence from any community.
Omri actually said that PW told them the last games will be dedicated for trying line-ups for next year, so what can you figure out if your'e 2nd year player and get your DNP's on that period of the season? if the kings won't trade him, i don't think the best way to show this is by sitting him on the bench for 35-40 minutes.

 

[rainmaker]

I think Omri thinks he's better than he is. He seems to blame the not playing more on his situation than his current ability. He said there's other contendors who wants him. Maybe they do, as a project, but if he thinks he'd be starting for a contendor, or a mian piece on most teams, he's mistaken.

I have been disappointed in Omri's progression this year, and he's had his chances to earn the starting sf spot. The reason he's behind Donte and Cisco is because of his play, nothing else. I know foreign media can be a nightmare with their translations, so who knows how muhc of this is true. But if Omri thinks his not playing much is due to the situation more than his current skill level, he needs to change his frame of mind. He needs to add to his game, and work on his shooting, and defense. Just last week after a win he complained to the Bee about the team not running enough plays for sf's on this team. I get the impression Omri usually has his offense on the top of his mind, and thinks he currently is good enough to have teams constantly running plays for him. He's not. I wish I was reading more quotes about Omri taking responsibility for his play, and how hard he'll work this offseason, instead of constantly complaining about not being involved enough in the offense.

It's his defense which won't allow him to stay on the court.

 

[Glenn]

Does anyone remember his reputation before he came here? There were a lot of questions. I think prima donna might be the best words used to describe him. He was a guy used to being the star on his team and it was thought he'd never fit in.

Now, has any of that been true? None. I think we would all react the way he is. He has been a far better team man than I thought he would be. He has the horrible misfortune of being in the three headed monster called the (inadequate) SF postition. Not saying anything anyone doesn't know. He is also in the position that needs an upgrade. He has twice the desire to be great and half the athleticism as Greene. I'm not at the practices so don't know what is right. I was happier with the Greene/Casspi roles reversed. I may be ultra critical here and even may not have a clue what is inside these guys but I see Casspi as having the greater desire to improve than Greene. This is the main reason I liike Casspi better. There is something burning in him that is lacking in Greene.

I saw something yesterday that is only one item and probably is indicative of nothing except it happens to fit with what I think. The team came out of a huddle, D Block and Casspi grouped together for a group hand shake while Greene and Pooh weren't paying attention at all and were off from the team giggling and having a great time. So there was D Block and Casspi with their hands together.

I don't know if that meant anything but as athletic and dramatic as Greene is, he really just wants to have fun and that's his prime concern.

They both need to be traded. The position should be plugged with a defensive veteran SF. When the careers are over, I will bet that Casspi has the better career than Greene.

 

[CalBears1]

Just something I noticed at the end of yesterday's game, after the final buzzer, Casspi rushed from the bench out the tunnel towards the locker room while the rest of the team huddled at mid-court. Not trying to make anything big out of it, but was something that I had observed.

 

[LWP777]

How does he play selfishly? Seems to me like all he ever does is spot shoot open 3's and tip in misses by our other players. It's not like he's hogging the ball and taking bad shots all the time.

The only thing that scares me is that Casspi is the only real SF on the team that can rebound. Cisco and Donte can play 50 minutes between each other and come up with 3 rebounds. They both play better D than Casspi but neither can shoot from 3 as well. Since Donte can never pull his head out of his you know what on a consistant basis, I say keep Garcia and Casspi.

Did you watch him play at all last year? He went into a terrible slump and pretty much jacked up any shot he could imagine every time he touched the ball. He definitely put himself ahead of the team. He's a terrible passer and the only thing he can do semi well is knock down open 3's. I just think he's more worried about his playing time than he is how well the team is doing. The timing for him to make these statements is not good considering the team has finally found some rhythm and is playing well and winning games.

 

[Glenn]

Did you watch him play at all last year? He went into a terrible slump and pretty much jacked up any shot he could imagine every time he touched the ball. He definitely put himself ahead of the team. He's a terrible passer and the only thing he can do semi well is knock down open 3's. I just think he's more worried about his playing time than he is how well the team is doing. The timing for him to make these statements is not good considering the team has finally found some rhythm and is playing well and winning games.

I think most of us gave him a pass on last year and the good it may have done is that it may have humbled him.

In any case, I like him. Can't help it.

 

[Kingster]

The three position on this team has been a disaster this year, so it's hard to be terribly concerned about who is better or worse at the three. They all are below mediocre as far as I'm concerned. And Casspi is the worst of the three. Probably not a lot worse than either of the other two, but definitely not markedly better, that's for sure. If he can't get PT against the likes of Garcia and Greene, then he's in trouble with his NBA career.

 

[mr. moustache]

Did you watch him play at all last year? He went into a terrible slump and pretty much jacked up any shot he could imagine every time he touched the ball. He definitely put himself ahead of the team. He's a terrible passer and the only thing he can do semi well is knock down open 3's. I just think he's more worried about his playing time than he is how well the team is doing. The timing for him to make these statements is not good considering the team has finally found some rhythm and is playing well and winning games.

Yeah; it's kind of funny to start complaining now that they're winning games. I get it though. He's frustrated because he's not playing, AND the Kings are playing better with Greene and Garcia taking his minutes. I like him as a started in 3 years, but I'm not sure he's the right guy to have on the bench for another 3 years.

 

[Spike]

Casspi's been too inconsistent, and it hasn't been about minutes - both he and Donte have had their chances this year to lock down the SF position but have failed to do so. If Westphal is using these last few games to battle for the SF spot, then Casspi should do what we will need from that position: hustle. We don't need the points from the SF anymore as we did last year, which is probably why his hide is chapped. With Thornton and Cousins, the points will consistently come from our 3 gunners. We need a glue person at that position, and Donte seems better (at least in potential - but it's time to deliver) suited as a "glue" role, provided he hits a few more shots. Casspi can get you points, but doesn't seem to work at all on defense.

 

[Glenn]

Yeah; it's kind of funny to start complaining now that they're winning games. I get it though. He's frustrated because he's not playing, AND the Kings are playing better with Greene and Garcia taking his minutes. I like him as a started in 3 years, but I'm not sure he's the right guy to have on the bench for another 3 years.

Oooooh, let's not jump to the conclusion that the team is playing better now that Cisco and Greene are getting his minutes. I think Reke and Thornton have added just a bit more. The one thing Cisco brings is leadership which on this team makes him a starter. Next, year, give me someone else. I'm even of the mind that it is not crucial to get a SF but then I slap myself and remind myself this is the perfect time to upgrade and the money is there.

Greene tolerates the bench and Casspi does not. So it seems. Greene just enjoys hanging with the guys and Casspi wants to be a star. I think I'd do Casspi the favor and trade him.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I think its fair to say Geoff Petrie has made a series of good moves, and I think its also fair to say those moves have been obvious ones.

First with the Martin trade. It was clear we needed to become a tougher team, it was clear we needed scoring from our bigs, it was clear Martin and Reke couldnt work together, So Geoff made the obvious move to bring in a tough post scorer in Carl Landry. (Who was very good the rest of last season, the trade only started to look bad this season).

Then came the Hawes/Noch for Dally trade. Again, This was the obvious move to make. Alot of us on this board talked about a potential Dalembert trade almost 2 full years before it happened. It just made too much sense. We needed a defensive big, we had the cap room to take his big contract. Philly wanted to dump him ... it all worked out.

Then drafting DMC and Whiteside... Both no brainer picks. The fans got what they wanted in both players.

That created a logjam at the 4/5, which helped us make the Landry-Thornton trade, which didnt go over as well as I thought it would. Some fans didnt like it, but again .. I thought it was an obvious move that made a lot of sense. We had a big man logjam, we needed another guard who could shoot and score. Evans was injured... Landry was an unrestricted free agent.. why not trade him for a young scorer who you will have control over in free agency?

And now here we are with Omri Casspi. I have been saying this all year .. doesnt trading Omri make a lot of sense? I think it does.

Casspi had a chance to take the starting SF role. Greene had a chance. Garcia had a chance. None of these guys are good enough to start at that spot for a contender. Then it comes down to who is a better bench player? Garcia is the best of the bunch off the bench. Can play the 2 or 3, one of the better shooters in the league. Scrappy defender, great energy guy, great teamate yadda yadda yadda. Also has a big contract. He's not going anywhere. Greene is another fantastic teamate/locker room guy. He obviously wants minutes, but is OK with his reserve role. Can defend and play multple positions. Everyone on the team loves him and he is a great guy to have for the fans. So who is the most expendable bench player? I'd say its Omri and I dont think its close. Cant defend, streaky shooter, good rebounder ( but honestly, with DMC, Dally, Evans, and Thornton who are all very good rebounders for there positions, do we really need Omri's rebounding?) He isnt a bad locker room guy, but he is kind of turning into a diva. Wants the minutes he doesnt deserve...

And the good thing about our situation is that the guy who doesnt fit in (Casspi) is also the guy with the most trade value.

So with a GM who is on a hot streak of making the obvious moves, I think Casspi gets dealt sometime in the near future. It just makes sense.

 

[Asaf]

While I didn't think it was a smart move on the part of Omri to openly discuss these issues in his column, it's important to note that he isn't complaining/bitching or pointing fingers at anyone. He said it was obvious that the coach doesn't see him as part of the future of the Kings, which seems to be a correct assessment. He also said he was disappointed that he was unable to make the necessary improvement in his game this season, again not pointing fingers at anyone but just expressing disappointment mostly with himself. He said it's not an ideal situation for him or the team, and although he loves the fans, the city, the Maloofs, and GP, trading him would be the best move for all parties involved.

It's understandable that a second year player who is not getting minutes, and is unlikely to get minutes in the future, will want to get traded to a team that might have more use for him. It's easy for fans to expect a player to think more about the team than his own PT, but this is his career, and sitting on the bench for the entire last year of his contract could mean the end of his NBA career, and I don't know any player in this situation who would honestly think that it's ok that his career might be over as long as the team is winning. If that was his mindset, he wouldn't have made it to the NBA in the first place. Just like I thought it was better to trade JT rather that try to use him as a SF and destroy his career, I think it would be best to trade Omri if there is no need for him on this team.

 

[swisshh]

Casspi always looked like a player that would succeed in a more structured system. I think he's trying to give an honest assessment of the situation while paying respect to everyone.

 

[raz]

So who is the most expendable bench player? I'd say its Omri and I dont think its close. Cant defend, streaky shooter, good rebounder ( but honestly, with DMC, Dally, Evans, and Thornton who are all very good rebounders for there positions, do we really need Omri's rebounding?) He isnt a bad locker room guy, but he is kind of turning into a diva. Wants the minutes he doesnt deserve...


=.

which quote made you thing he is turning into a diva?
i don't remember even 1 accident related to omri behaviour this season, and if saying that he wants more PT makes you a diva... it's kind of basic demand from any player.


about rebounding- if our future starting SF doesn't have to score nore rebound, i don't think we will be much better.

 

[pshn80]

Agree that his words sound more like an honest appraisal of what's happening and where he stands, right or wrong. Wouldn't call it dirty laundry. I think Donte has been more on the margin than Casspi and, thus, has been playing more to determine his fate. I don't think Donte has yet been chosen over Casspi. Door is still open. Both players need to do better and maybe time will be running out soon for one of them.

 

[The Hammer]

It's important to remember the context.

Specifically, we need to understand what Omri means to his home country, and the amount of pressure that is on him to succeed. So, he needs to provide answers. Because of his recent lack of playing time, these are the answers he has chosen to provide his home country. It's not direct finger pointing, and most of his answers are reasonable and justified. I believe this was his best attempt at explaining the situation to those who have such high expectations of him, nothing more. It came across as genuine, in my opinion, when viewed from that angle.

 

[Amaranth]

Just something I noticed at the end of yesterday's game, after the final buzzer, Casspi rushed from the bench out the tunnel towards the locker room while the rest of the team huddled at mid-court. Not trying to make anything big out of it, but was something that I had observed.

I noticed that too, but he was through the tunnel before the players had finished with the postgame hug-the-opponent ritual. He didn't deliberately snub the huddle, he just left before anything happened.

 

[Amaranth]

While I didn't think it was a smart move on the part of Omri to openly discuss these issues in his column, it's important to note that he isn't complaining/bitching or pointing fingers at anyone. He said it was obvious that the coach doesn't see him as part of the future of the Kings, which seems to be a correct assessment. He also said he was disappointed that he was unable to make the necessary improvement in his game this season, again not pointing fingers at anyone but just expressing disappointment mostly with himself. He said it's not an ideal situation for him or the team, and although he loves the fans, the city, the Maloofs, and GP, trading him would be the best move for all parties involved.

It's understandable that a second year player who is not getting minutes, and is unlikely to get minutes in the future, will want to get traded to a team that might have more use for him. It's easy for fans to expect a player to think more about the team than his own PT, but this is his career, and sitting on the bench for the entire last year of his contract could mean the end of his NBA career, and I don't know any player in this situation who would honestly think that it's ok that his career might be over as long as the team is winning. If that was his mindset, he wouldn't have made it to the NBA in the first place. Just like I thought it was better to trade JT rather that try to use him as a SF and destroy his career, I think it would be best to trade Omri if there is no need for him on this team.

This.