israeli media: Casspi asked for a trade, 3 teams interested - DEBUNKED

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#34
Whether he actually asked for a trade or not (probably not) it's a little frustrating just as a fan that Casspi looked like he was going to be a foundational piece for us last season (averaged 12 and 6 in 27 mpg off the bench, consistent 40% three point threat two years in a row, good chemistry with Cousins) and so far this season he's seen his role marginalized so that one year rentals Afflalo, Tolliver, and Barnes can get steady rotation minutes. It's a walk year for Casspi and we're not going to get him back at a discounted rate next season. He turns 29 in the off-season and he's rightfully going to be looking to get the biggest guaranteed contract he can get as he's realistically looking at maybe 4 or 5 years left in his NBA career. He's not just a product of George Karl's system either -- his per36 numbers the last 2 seasons were almost identical. I just don't get it.

I understand that we have another new coach and he's got to find his own comfort zone here which takes time, but that's why I didn't like some of these roster moves in the first place. Casspi should have guaranteed minutes after his performance last season. He's easily the best shooter on the team in a league which has gone fully 3pt crazy the past 5 years. Why do we need to pile up on replacement level veteran wings who are all going to want minutes? None of them are good enough to displace Casspi completely so instead we have this awkward jumble and rumblings that certain players are "uncertain about their roles" and "talking to their agents about their options". I suppose we could just let him leave in the off-season. We could trade him now to try to get a player with a multi-year contract, but what are we trying to do here? Are we building a team or just kicking the can down the road?
 
#35
Whether he actually asked for a trade or not (probably not) it's a little frustrating just as a fan that Casspi looked like he was going to be a foundational piece for us last season (averaged 12 and 6 in 27 mpg off the bench, consistent 40% three point threat two years in a row, good chemistry with Cousins) and so far this season he's seen his role marginalized so that one year rentals Afflalo, Tolliver, and Barnes can get steady rotation minutes. It's a walk year for Casspi and we're not going to get him back at a discounted rate next season. He turns 29 in the off-season and he's rightfully going to be looking to get the biggest guaranteed contract he can get as he's realistically looking at maybe 4 or 5 years left in his NBA career. He's not just a product of George Karl's system either -- his per36 numbers the last 2 seasons were almost identical. I just don't get it.

I understand that we have another new coach and he's got to find his own comfort zone here which takes time, but that's why I didn't like some of these roster moves in the first place. Casspi should have guaranteed minutes after his performance last season. He's easily the best shooter on the team in a league which has gone fully 3pt crazy the past 5 years. Why do we need to pile up on replacement level veteran wings who are all going to want minutes? None of them are good enough to displace Casspi completely so instead we have this awkward jumble and rumblings that certain players are "uncertain about their roles" and "talking to their agents about their options". I suppose we could just let him leave in the off-season. We could trade him now to try to get a player with a multi-year contract, but what are we trying to do here? Are we building a team or just kicking the can down the road?
That!!
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#36
Whether he actually asked for a trade or not (probably not) it's a little frustrating just as a fan that Casspi looked like he was going to be a foundational piece for us last season (averaged 12 and 6 in 27 mpg off the bench, consistent 40% three point threat two years in a row, good chemistry with Cousins) and so far this season he's seen his role marginalized so that one year rentals Afflalo, Tolliver, and Barnes can get steady rotation minutes. It's a walk year for Casspi and we're not going to get him back at a discounted rate next season. He turns 29 in the off-season and he's rightfully going to be looking to get the biggest guaranteed contract he can get as he's realistically looking at maybe 4 or 5 years left in his NBA career. He's not just a product of George Karl's system either -- his per36 numbers the last 2 seasons were almost identical. I just don't get it.

I understand that we have another new coach and he's got to find his own comfort zone here which takes time, but that's why I didn't like some of these roster moves in the first place. Casspi should have guaranteed minutes after his performance last season. He's easily the best shooter on the team in a league which has gone fully 3pt crazy the past 5 years. Why do we need to pile up on replacement level veteran wings who are all going to want minutes? None of them are good enough to displace Casspi completely so instead we have this awkward jumble and rumblings that certain players are "uncertain about their roles" and "talking to their agents about their options". I suppose we could just let him leave in the off-season. We could trade him now to try to get a player with a multi-year contract, but what are we trying to do here? Are we building a team or just kicking the can down the road?
Why? Past production doesn't correlate to new production in a new system. While he found some playing time under Mike Malone, Casspi didn't really flourish until all hell broke loose and Ty Corbin and George Karl threw out the defense first mindset for score first anarchy.

Omri tries hard, yes. He also tends to have massive Francisco Garcia level brainfarts and this season has proven incapable of shooting lay-ups, three-pointers, and playing defense. That isn't to say he's a bad player but Dave Joerger has said time and time again that you have to play defense to see time in his rotation, which, let's be honest, features better defenders that can play the same position as Casspi. Unless you want to make the odd argument that Omri is somehow a better defender than Matt Barnes, that's already twenty minutes of potential playing time for Omri gone.

But saying Omri is better than Matt Barnes? Matt Barnes has been one of the better defenders in the league for a decade. He's a veteran of Joerger's system, rebounds well for his position at this point in his career, and, for all that bluster about Omri being the best shooter on the team, is actually willing to shoot from the three point line (in all fairness to Omri, he's not a great spot-up shooter) as opposed to Omri's sudden reluctance to not shoot from the perimeter. Matt Barnes is a good basketball player and he's definitely earned his time on the court.

How about at the 4 spot? Well, Joerger's old school in that he generally tends to play two bigs at a time, though this season he's also stuck Barnes in there at times, which he can do because Barnes is capable of holding his own at the four. Again, if you want to make the argument that Omri is a better defender than Matt Barnes, go ahead.

If you want to say Omri is a better player than Tolliver, you probably have an argument but Tolliver isn't exactly seeing all that much playing time to begin with and when he does play, he generally plays within himself and avoids doing anything too stupid. Omri, thus far in the season, has not.

Does Omri deserve playing time? Yes. But he has to earn it.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#37
and to think, there were posters on here indicating that Casspi should be our starting small forward before the season started...0__0

I think we now see why Casspi has not been able to stick with a team more than a season or two, look at his stints before coming back in Houston and Cleveland, he didn't last very long. He thrives in a up and down game more and he just doesn't belong anymore considering the team is playing more half court basketball and looking for willing defenders.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#40
Why? Past production doesn't correlate to new production in a new system. While he found some playing time under Mike Malone, Casspi didn't really flourish until all hell broke loose and Ty Corbin and George Karl threw out the defense first mindset for score first anarchy.

Omri tries hard, yes. He also tends to have massive Francisco Garcia level brainfarts and this season has proven incapable of shooting lay-ups, three-pointers, and playing defense. That isn't to say he's a bad player but Dave Joerger has said time and time again that you have to play defense to see time in his rotation, which, let's be honest, features better defenders that can play the same position as Casspi. Unless you want to make the odd argument that Omri is somehow a better defender than Matt Barnes, that's already twenty minutes of potential playing time for Omri gone.

But saying Omri is better than Matt Barnes? Matt Barnes has been one of the better defenders in the league for a decade. He's a veteran of Joerger's system, rebounds well for his position at this point in his career, and, for all that bluster about Omri being the best shooter on the team, is actually willing to shoot from the three point line (in all fairness to Omri, he's not a great spot-up shooter) as opposed to Omri's sudden reluctance to not shoot from the perimeter. Matt Barnes is a good basketball player and he's definitely earned his time on the court.

How about at the 4 spot? Well, Joerger's old school in that he generally tends to play two bigs at a time, though this season he's also stuck Barnes in there at times, which he can do because Barnes is capable of holding his own at the four. Again, if you want to make the argument that Omri is a better defender than Matt Barnes, go ahead.

If you want to say Omri is a better player than Tolliver, you probably have an argument but Tolliver isn't exactly seeing all that much playing time to begin with and when he does play, he generally plays within himself and avoids doing anything too stupid. Omri, thus far in the season, has not.

Does Omri deserve playing time? Yes. But he has to earn it.
Matt Barnes is 36 and signed a 2 year deal with a player option for the second season. He's not a long-term option and I'm not even sure that he's obviously better than Omri right now. He's an active defender for sure but he's currently shooting 36% from the floor and below 30% from three. Last year wasn't much better and if you look at his career averages we probably shouldn't expect much improvement the rest of the season. At his peak he was still below average as a scorer. We need to become better on defense. Swapping out all of our supporting cast for defensive role-players who can't score may seem like a good idea after the absolute disgrace that was last season but the end result is going to be the same. What we actually need are two-way players and preferably someone young enough that they can be a part of a winning team for the next 5+ seasons.

Beyond that though, it helps to have some continuity. I'm not saying that Omri should be a starter, but he has been the best shooter on the team two years in a row (except for Seth Curry's strong second half last year). I would expect that to translate regardless of who the coach is and what system they want to run. He's only played in about half the games so far. Going from 27mpg to regular DNP-CDs is a pretty big jump wouldn't you say? I don't think 92 minutes of court-time this season spread out over 6 games is enough of a sample to justify pushing him out of the rotation. The only reason for it appears to be "Joerger likes Barnes more" and I think that's a short-sighted move. Every team in the league needs a bench wing who can shoot. Remember this guy wanted to come to Sacramento when nobody else did. He's played well here for two years and now he's essentially being forced out because the new coach wants to play a 36 year old role-player instead. I understand why it's happening, but I'm not happy about it.
 
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#41
Barnes has been the heart and soul of this team so far, and been a very good presence on the floor. Rudy is a much better player than Cassipi. Cassipi can't play well as a 2 (he is pretty bad when he puts the ball on the floor). He can't play well at the 4 (too weak). So that leaves only SF minutes for him. And Barnes ate those minutes for breakfast. I love Cassipi but I understand why he isn't in the rotation. Breaks my heart.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#44
Let's try to be a bit selective about our sourcing here. This comes from the well-known basketball coverage of The Ecumenical News, and their source is...

A user-submitted trade suggestion from noted NBA insider "alexstorm1" at the oh-so-selective site http://nba-trade-rumors.com/orlando-magic-rumors.php

The plot has not thickened at all. This is how - this is the EXACT WAY - that a random fan's trade suggestion becomes a "trade rumor". Know it. Learn it. You'll see it again.