Donte

[Seanathon81]

I by no means know if this is exactly the reason why and do not know if Paul Westphal are anyone in the Kings organization knew anything about this or not so this is just pure speculation on my part. All I know is I frequent the nightlife establishments here in Sacramento and happened to go to out on Halloween night. To my surprise Donte Greene and Tyreke Evans happened to be in the club that night as well. My first thought was, "how is Evans in the club when he isn't even 21 yet"? However I used to see Spencer Hawes in the club and knew him only to be 19 so I guess the rules are bent a little when you are an NBA player. My 2nd thought was, "don't these dudes have a game tomorrow night?". From what I understand the big news circulating around the club was that Donte was having a big after party at his house that night after the club. Fast forward the next day and I'm at the game and Reke has a mysterious one day stomach ailment and Donte isn't playing anymore. Now again this is just my pure speculation and me filling in the gaps from my first hand accounts. I don't know for sure if there was an after party at Donte's house nor did I see Reke have a single drink. The afterparty was just what I was hearing from other club participants and from the promoters at the club. But I do know for a fact that Donte and Reke were in the club on a game night and from that point on until 2 days ago Greene has not seen the floor.

 

[Tetsujin]

I by no means know if this is exactly the reason why and do not know if Paul Westphal are anyone in the Kings organization knew anything about this or not so this is just pure speculation on my part. All I know is I frequent the nightlife establishments here in Sacramento and happened to go to out on Halloween night. To my surprise Donte Greene and Tyreke Evans happened to be in the club that night as well. My first thought was, "how is Evans in the club when he isn't even 21 yet"? However I used to see Spencer Hawes in the club and knew him only to be 19 so I guess the rules are bent a little when you are an NBA player. My 2nd thought was, "don't these dudes have a game tomorrow night?". From what I understand the big news circulating around the club was that Donte was having a big after party at his house that night after the club. Fast forward the next day and I'm at the game and Reke has a mysterious one day stomach ailment and Donte isn't playing anymore. Now again this is just my pure speculation and me filling in the gaps from my first hand accounts. I don't know for sure if there was an after party at Donte's house nor did I see Reke have a single drink. The afterparty was just what I was hearing from other club participants and from the promoters at the club. But I do know for a fact that Donte and Reke were in the club on a game night and from that point on until 2 days ago Greene has not seen the floor.

Turned 21 in September.

 

[Boogie-havoc]

I by no means know if this is exactly the reason why and do not know if Paul Westphal are anyone in the Kings organization knew anything about this or not so this is just pure speculation on my part. All I know is I frequent the nightlife establishments here in Sacramento and happened to go to out on Halloween night. To my surprise Donte Greene and Tyreke Evans happened to be in the club that night as well. My first thought was, "how is Evans in the club when he isn't even 21 yet"? However I used to see Spencer Hawes in the club and knew him only to be 19 so I guess the rules are bent a little when you are an NBA player. My 2nd thought was, "don't these dudes have a game tomorrow night?". From what I understand the big news circulating around the club was that Donte was having a big after party at his house that night after the club. Fast forward the next day and I'm at the game and Reke has a mysterious one day stomach ailment and Donte isn't playing anymore. Now again this is just my pure speculation and me filling in the gaps from my first hand accounts. I don't know for sure if there was an after party at Donte's house nor did I see Reke have a single drink. The afterparty was just what I was hearing from other club participants and from the promoters at the club. But I do know for a fact that Donte and Reke were in the club on a game night and from that point on until 2 days ago Greene has not seen the floor.

Thats an intresting view, thanks for sharing.. wonder if there's anything to it.. reke stomach thing does makes you wonder.

 

[Seanathon81]

No clue, I honestly mostly lurk on this site and didn't even want to bring this up because it's pure speculation. But I wondered if they would get into trouble for going out on a night before the game. Cisco, Thompson, Douby all used to frequent night clubs but I never saw them on nights when they had games the next day. I don't know if thats against Kings policy or not. But with the disappearance of Greene after that night my best guess is that its sternly frowned upon.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

...I frequent the nightlife establishments here in Sacramento and happened to go to out on Halloween night. ...I do know for a fact that Donte and Reke were in the club on a game night and from that point on until 2 days ago Greene has not seen the floor.

Could explain Tyreke's upset stomach, but Donte's minutes dropped drastically after the first game, meaning that for the two games prior to Halloween (Oct. 29th, Oct. 30th) he barely saw the floor. Doesn't mesh up with your timeline.

 

[Bricklayer]

Donte dsiappeared after the first game in Minnesota. He was 12th manned for the next one in New Jersey. For partying to be the cause he would have to have been club hopping in NYC, whihc is always possible of course. But Halloween did not come untol after the 3rd game.

 

[BMiller52]

No clue, I honestly mostly lurk on this site and didn't even want to bring this up because it's pure speculation. But I wondered if they would get into trouble for going out on a night before the game. Cisco, Thompson, Douby all used to frequent night clubs but I never saw them on nights when they had games the next day. I don't know if thats against Kings policy or not. But with the disappearance of Greene after that night my best guess is that its sternly frowned upon.

Donte probably showed up hung over or something.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Donte probably showed up hung over or something.

As Brick and I both pointed out, that does not fit the timeline. I'm not saying the poster didn't see Reke/Donte in a club, but assuming he did, Donte had already been benched. Let's not throw speculative accusations at Donte based on a rumor that doesn't fit the timeline.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

Sigh.. our players aren't dogs and Westphal isn't the owner!!! The team is hanging in the balance and playing these lineups is going to make us lose our only team.

Yeah...I've been saying this since last year with the whole Spencer thing...but THIS year it takes on a whole new meaning because of the looming arena stuff and relocation stuff...if we continue to suck, it will be a sea of blue at Arco(or whatever the heck it's going to be called)and *poof* bye bye Kings!

edit: So...who's gonna volunteer on behalf of us fans, and walk into Petrie's office with an ultimatum from us fans wanting Elie as our head coach...PW has no respect and no control over this bunch.

 

[bajaden]

Now who's talking about putting players at different postions? You're putting Evans and Beno at the power forward postion? And you want those guys to rotate in with Landry and Thompson? See, this is how Westphal gets confused; it's those typos that will get you every time!

So I take it you're done with the Beno/Tyreke backcourt then?

I think Casspi should be relegated to doghouse now; just have Garcia play the backup three, though his shooting has been atrocious lately.

Ha ha! Fixed! Sorry, my hands got ahead of my brain on that one. Or was it the other way around. Disagree on Casspi. He's a talented player. Give him his spot in the rotation and see how he plays. If he plays well you give him his minutes. If he's having a bad night you can always tighten up the rotation on that night and give Cisco more minutes. What I want to stop is all the kneejerk reactions to a player based on a couple of games. Players are going to have good nights and bad nights. On some nights their shot just aren't going to fall. As long as their taking good shots, I'm fine with their play. Its when they drive into the lane and leave thier feet with no place to go with the ball. Or dribble the ball for the last 15 seconds of the clock and then force up a bad shot. And there are many on the team that are guilty of that.

People get upset with Casspi taking a 3pt shot with 15 or more seconds left on the clock. If he has a wide open shot, isn't that what your working for anyway. Is he suspossed to pass up a wide open shot and pass the ball to someone else so that player can dribble the ball around and try to get a (wide open shot). If those wide open shots go in were not even having this discussion. Unfortunately for Casspi, of late, they haven't gone in. On defense Casspi has been a mixed bag. There have been nights where he's played well. Other nights not. Fans tend to only notice those nights when he doesn't play well. But in any case, its not for lack of trying. And thats the main issue. Casspi always leaves it out on the floor. He busts his butt. He's not always successful, but if you want him to develop into a complete player, you have to keep playing him.

 

[asakkings]

Ha ha! Fixed! Sorry, my hands got ahead of my brain on that one. Or was it the other way around. Disagree on Casspi. He's a talented player. Give him his spot in the rotation and see how he plays. If he plays well you give him his minutes. If he's having a bad night you can always tighten up the rotation on that night and give Cisco more minutes. What I want to stop is all the kneejerk reactions to a player based on a couple of games. Players are going to have good nights and bad nights. On some nights their shot just aren't going to fall. As long as their taking good shots, I'm fine with their play. Its when they drive into the lane and leave thier feet with no place to go with the ball. Or dribble the ball for the last 15 seconds of the clock and then force up a bad shot. And there are many on the team that are guilty of that.

People get upset with Casspi taking a 3pt shot with 15 or more seconds left on the clock. If he has a wide open shot, isn't that what your working for anyway. Is he suspossed to pass up a wide open shot and pass the ball to someone else so that player can dribble the ball around and try to get a (wide open shot). If those wide open shots go in were not even having this discussion. Unfortunately for Casspi, of late, they haven't gone in. On defense Casspi has been a mixed bag. There have been nights where he's played well. Other nights not. Fans tend to only notice those nights when he doesn't play well. But in any case, its not for lack of trying. And thats the main issue. Casspi always leaves it out on the floor. He busts his butt. He's not always successful, but if you want him to develop into a complete player, you have to keep playing him.

I totally agree with you. The players have to be given a role and not yanked after 1 bad game. If you look around the league a lot of younger players were given signifcant time even when they were making mistakes: Kobe Bryant had awful shot selection for a couple of years, had he been yanked and relegated to the bench for half the season for 1 bad game he would never be the player he is. As a coach of the young team you have to understand that there will be mistakes but you have to stick with a lineup and give them continuity. For some reason Westphal reacts with lineup changes after every game, its ridiculous after a certain time.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Did anybody hear Donte Greene on Grant's radio show yesterday? I did. Donte said he feels the reason he was benched for so long is all on him and absolutely no one else. I like that he man-ed up and took full responsibilty - especially now back as SF starter for the Kings. Basically, said he was not dedicated (as in top shape, focused), the way he should have been. He agreed that consistency is something that he's yet to master in NBA and needs to work much harder to get there.

 

[est.1999]

How do some players make it to the pro level and not wanna work hard to be the best they can be? I've never understood that, maybe it's just my way of going about things(work wise) and my personality.

 

[Nighthawk1]

Did anybody hear Donte Greene on Grant's radio show yesterday? I did. Donte said he feels the reason he was benched for so long is all on him and absolutely no one else. I like that he man-ed up and took full responsibilty - especially now back as SF starter for the Kings. Basically, said he was not dedicated (as in top shape, focused), the way he should have been. He agreed that consistency is something that he's yet to master in NBA and needs to work much harder to get there.

That's grown of him to admit he was at fault - I hope he sticks to his word as he's one of my fav players on the Kings squad.

 

[Bricklayer]

How do some players make it to the pro level and not wanna work hard to be the best they can be? I've never understood that, maybe it's just my way of going about things(work wise) and my personality.

They come in so young -- its asking college frosh to come in and be mature pros when they'd probably still be attending keggers. And of course he's 6'11", and there are just a really limited supply of 6'11" guys in the world who are actually good athletes. Human beings aren't supposed to tbe that big. Most who are are huge clumsy things who struggle phsycially. So when you turn out to be on the rare ones who can move, your path to the league is paved even if you have never developed an elite work ethic.

It has been and remains a major concern with Donte of course. He's never shown he really wants it. He'll be around for a long time just on the talent and physical skills, but whether he's going to matter or not is still very much up in the air.

 

[PurpleHaze]

How do some players make it to the pro level and not wanna work hard to be the best they can be? I've never understood that, maybe it's just my way of going about things(work wise) and my personality.

I totally understand your sentiments. In Donte's case and this is not unique in many ways, he jumped into the NBA after only one year of college ball. He had always been cottled or spoiled as a rising star from high school and been handed a lot without having to work super hard to get any of it. Heck, he never had to play a lick of defense in his life as they played zone all the time, every game at Syracuse. Then he gets handed a million bucks or so as a teenager to play in the NBA with the dream realized of making it (one of only 400 humans on the planet in the league), becoming a star, becoming a super star, and off on the fun ride of a lifetime. Seems he didn't quite realize or quite appreciate that the NBA is way hella tougher than anything he'd ever experienced in his hometown of Baltimore or on the court for a year as 3point shucker in NCAA b-ball.

 

[Tyndel]

wouldn't you say anything to not get on your bosses bad side if he put you back to work after a layoff even if it isn't the whole truth?

 

[Kingsguy881]

I totally agree with you. The players have to be given a role and not yanked after 1 bad game. If you look around the league a lot of younger players were given signifcant time even when they were making mistakes: Kobe Bryant had awful shot selection for a couple of years, had he been yanked and relegated to the bench for half the season for 1 bad game he would never be the player he is. As a coach of the young team you have to understand that there will be mistakes but you have to stick with a lineup and give them continuity. For some reason Westphal reacts with lineup changes after every game, its ridiculous after a certain time.

Right, cuz last time I checked 6 games was half the season.

 

[Kingster]

Ha ha! Fixed! Sorry, my hands got ahead of my brain on that one. Or was it the other way around. Disagree on Casspi. He's a talented player. Give him his spot in the rotation and see how he plays. If he plays well you give him his minutes. If he's having a bad night you can always tighten up the rotation on that night and give Cisco more minutes. What I want to stop is all the kneejerk reactions to a player based on a couple of games. Players are going to have good nights and bad nights. On some nights their shot just aren't going to fall. As long as their taking good shots, I'm fine with their play. Its when they drive into the lane and leave thier feet with no place to go with the ball. Or dribble the ball for the last 15 seconds of the clock and then force up a bad shot. And there are many on the team that are guilty of that.

People get upset with Casspi taking a 3pt shot with 15 or more seconds left on the clock. If he has a wide open shot, isn't that what your working for anyway. Is he suspossed to pass up a wide open shot and pass the ball to someone else so that player can dribble the ball around and try to get a (wide open shot). If those wide open shots go in were not even having this discussion. Unfortunately for Casspi, of late, they haven't gone in. On defense Casspi has been a mixed bag. There have been nights where he's played well. Other nights not. Fans tend to only notice those nights when he doesn't play well. But in any case, its not for lack of trying. And thats the main issue. Casspi always leaves it out on the floor. He busts his butt. He's not always successful, but if you want him to develop into a complete player, you have to keep playing him.

Casspi had his chance in the rotation. Westphal kept playing him even though he played lousy, but at some point you have to give it a rest. He blew it. Played some of the worst D on the club and terrible offense. Now he's on the outside looking in. You don't award minutes for playing lousy. I guess in your world you play a guy who consistently plays below par. But not in the real world, you don't. Everybody wants a more defined lineup. Well, you got it. Now people are crying about Casspi. Cry me a river... Let him sit on the bench a while and contemplate life. He'll get another chance down the line. It's not too late. Yet.

 

[SuperPowerMultiPly]

Casspi had his chance in the rotation. Westphal kept playing him even though he played lousy, but at some point you have to give it a rest. He blew it. Played some of the worst D on the club and terrible offense. Now he's on the outside looking in. You don't award minutes for playing lousy. I guess in your world you play a guy who consistently plays below par. But not in the real world, you don't. Everybody wants a more defined lineup. Well, you got it. Now people are crying about Casspi. Cry me a river... Let him sit on the bench a while and contemplate life. He'll get another chance down the line. It's not too late. Yet.

Say what you want about his defense, but saying he was lousy at the offensive side when he got the chance is just ignoring facts, 6 of 7 for 3pt rings you any bells?
he's got 10.1 pts per game, you call it "terrible offense, below par", are you serious? Donte in his last two good games had 8 and 9, i don't see you calling it below par, just so you'll get in perspective: Ron Artest 9.8pt/g, Hedo Turkoglu 9.6pt/g, Jason Kidd 8.3pt/g...

 

[mac]

Say what you want about his defense, but saying he was lousy at the offensive side when he got the chance is just ignoring facts, 6 of 7 for 3pt rings you any bells?
he's got 10.1 pts per game, you call it "terrible offense, below par", are you serious? Donte in his last two good games had 8 and 9, i don't see you calling it below par, just so you'll get in perspective: Ron Artest 9.8pt/g, Hedo Turkoglu 9.6pt/g, Jason Kidd 8.3pt/g...

Offence is more than simply points. I wouldn't say he was lousy, but certainly could have played better. I still want him to get PT though, he didn't play so badly that he deserves to be benched. Just step up defensively, be more selective with shots, try to mix it up a little and not always settle for 3s (though his ball-handling is fairly weak) and he'll be a very useful player. Which is why both Donte and Omri need time, because they can be what we need them to be, but need more experience and a commitment to working hard and learning from mistakes.

 

[Bricklayer]

Casspi had his chance in the rotation. Westphal kept playing him even though he played lousy, but at some point you have to give it a rest. He blew it. Played some of the worst D on the club and terrible offense. Now he's on the outside looking in. You don't award minutes for playing lousy. I guess in your world you play a guy who consistently plays below par. But not in the real world, you don't. Everybody wants a more defined lineup. Well, you got it. Now people are crying about Casspi. Cry me a river... Let him sit on the bench a while and contemplate life. He'll get another chance down the line. It's not too late. Yet.

That's not how you handle young players. Young guys are going to screw up, its a given. But its also how you learn. Hence the term "experience". You gain it by going out and doing stuff, making mistakes, and hopefully learning from them. An 8 year vet who fails in a role? Sure. He's not going to get any better just by playing him, so if he's not helping, he's not helping and you might as well play somebody who will. But kids aren't what they one day will be. And the only way they will ever get to be what they one day will be is by playing. So sure, moving Omri to the bench is warranted, and Donte's reapparance most welcome. But you don't just let a kid rot over there until you're convinced he's tapped out his talent. Until then you have to find ways to play him. His future, and accordingly your future, depend upon it.

 

[bajaden]

Casspi had his chance in the rotation. Westphal kept playing him even though he played lousy, but at some point you have to give it a rest. He blew it. Played some of the worst D on the club and terrible offense. Now he's on the outside looking in. You don't award minutes for playing lousy. I guess in your world you play a guy who consistently plays below par. But not in the real world, you don't. Everybody wants a more defined lineup. Well, you got it. Now people are crying about Casspi. Cry me a river... Let him sit on the bench a while and contemplate life. He'll get another chance down the line. It's not too late. Yet.

Ha ha, you remind me of my of a good friend who shall remain nameless. Its all one way or the other. You know, you really have to read what I wrote more carefully. If a player is busting his butt and trying to play the way the coach wants, but at times fails because of, inexperience, making the wrong quick decision etc., and if that player is perceived as part of the future of the team, then you have to keep him in the rotation. There is no better way to improve than playing in real games against good players that want to kick your A$$. That said, it doesn't mean he gets significant minutes every game. If he comes in at his regular time and plays well, you give him his minutes. If he comes in and plays badly, you sit him down earlier.

I don't have vendeta's against players. Well maybe Wright! What I want is for the team to slowly improve to the point that they're competitive against any team on any given night. I was upset with Greene for taking his training too lightly, and I'm putting it mildly. But I wasn't ready to dump him. Or sentence him to the bench for eternity. He's too talented. I feel the same way about Casspi. In a way Casspi and Greene are polar opposites. One takes things with a very laid back attitude, and the other is way too aggressive. For both, their game lies somewhere toward the middle. Hopefully Greene is starting to get it. If Casspi can do the same, we have two valuable players. Thats the world I live in. I judge, and I criticize. But I don't condemm. Just yet!

 

[Boogie-havoc]

Thing is Kingster, when Donte had a bad game and got doghoused and Omri played fantastic in Clevland I recall you still talked about Donte needing to play, but when the opposite occurs it's not the same.

Thats why you'll have to excuse me, but with the way you lay things out and the some of the context itself, such as making it sound like Omri was barely a D-league level player while he was on the floor(which is not at all true), I very much question your intentions and where this is comming from.

That said, I do think Donte has to start and get significant minutes and thought so all summer long even tho i'm from Israel, but from here to dismissing Omri just like that sending him to the DNP-zone without a blink of an eye is absurd.

 

[TheWileyVet]

Neither player should get benched

 

[kingsboi]

Donte had a pretty nice performance last night. He still needs to work on his conditioning and what not, he looks a little slow out there or heavy. Let's hope he can continue just doing the little things that helps win games.

 

[TheWileyVet]

You gotta love the steal and coast to coast dunk in the 4th. Thats Donte Greene all the way. As of right now he's not the most skilled player, but he's long, athletic, and brings energy. Donte Greene is our spark plug, our glue guy, our can of whoop @ss, ect ect.

 

[wmax1067]

Donte Greene...

I am a huge Sysracuse fan and thought Donte Greene would be a decent pro. He seems like a good kid but he is way too LAZY to be the great player he could be. He just doesnt care enough to be great. He has top 10% talent and a bottom 5% head. He has a chance to start this year and comes to camp 30 punds overweight.. hello Baron Davis2, pathetic. If this kid found motivation to become a GREAT player you would have one of the NBA's new stars.
Don't hold your breath...

 

[Sac.1989]

Skys the limit for donte, he just has to stay focused and dedicated to the cause. He is one of our best defensive players and a difference maker.

 

[Kingster]

That's not how you handle young players. Young guys are going to screw up, its a given. But its also how you learn. Hence the term "experience". You gain it by going out and doing stuff, making mistakes, and hopefully learning from them. An 8 year vet who fails in a role? Sure. He's not going to get any better just by playing him, so if he's not helping, he's not helping and you might as well play somebody who will. But kids aren't what they one day will be. And the only way they will ever get to be what they one day will be is by playing. So sure, moving Omri to the bench is warranted, and Donte's reapparance most welcome. But you don't just let a kid rot over there until you're convinced he's tapped out his talent. Until then you have to find ways to play him. His future, and accordingly your future, depend upon it.

Casspi had a good "experience" for several games. Played lousy. Didn't help the team. You can't continually give that "experience" to a player playing poorly at the detriment of the team. It kills team moral. The guys who do play relatively good are wondering why the hell they are out there busting their butt trying to win when Casspi is sabotaging all of their best efforts. Giving experience to young players isn't an entitlement, and it isn't an absolute. There are legitimate trade-offs. Winning is among them. Westphal gave Casspi plenty of rope and Casspi kicked the chair. Now it's time for Casspi to get some "experience" riding the pine, watching the action, learning from his observation, and hopefully doing a little soul searching about the meaning of "team".

What really gets me is everybody wants Westphal to have a consistent rotation. Rightfully so in my book. Well, now he has done just that apparently. And Casspi, for the moment, may not be part of it. There appears to be no satisfying of some. You lose, they complain about the losing and the rotation. You win, and they complain about the rotation (Casspi not getting minutes). Me, I'm up for the fixed rotation sans Casspi. Let's see if we can actually win some games before being charitable with minutes. How about if we can blow out a team and then Westphal can give Casspi and Pooh some minutes in garbage time.

Lastly, when was the last time Casspi had a good stretch of games in the NBA? November of last year? After last year's All-Star break he was a disaster. So far this year, he's a disaster. I'm not inclined to worry about a guy that has played so poorly over such a long stretch of games. If I were Casspi, on the other hand, I would be worried about my future in the NBA.