Veteran wing Omri Casspi was told he’s out of the Kings rotation by Joerger. The 28-year-old is a free agent at the end of the season and has shot over 40 percent from behind the arc over the previous two seasons. The Kings will have no trouble finding a taker for his $3 million deal for the remainder of the season if they choose to move him. – by James Ham
More on Omri Casspi Trade?
Though his agents quietly have been making inquiries around the league, Casspi, who has remained on the bench for five of the past six games – four of which were losses – has not formally requested a trade. That isn’t his style, either. But based on his demeanor, a change of address undoubtedly would be welcomed. Clearly he is miserable. He leaps off the bench to congratulate teammates during timeouts, remains engaged in huddles, and works out privately after games and practices to maintain a reasonable level of conditioning. Yet transparent to a fault, his dulled brown eyes, occasional head shakes and emotional gestures reveal his frustrations.
Omri Casspi wants to call Sacramento home. He wants to be here. He never wanted to leave in the first place. The Kings’ 2009 first-round draft choice, who also has spent time with Houston and Cleveland, rejected more lucrative offers to re-sign with his original club two offseasons ago. But this on-again, off-again relationship appears destined for another split. The Kings have a new coach, a glistening new arena, a new roster with a surprising number of older players, and seemingly little need for their popular small forward.
As Casspi’s minutes continued to decline, the rumor mill began to spin last weekend, suggesting that the eight-year veteran was looking to be traded to a team where he could find a fit in their rotation. Earlier this week, Casspi denied the report that he himself asked for a trade. “That’s the nature of things, with the situation and with everything going on,” Casspi said. “I don’t try and think about that or talk about it because I am not focused on any of that. I am focused on helping the team win. If something happens, something happens.”
The rumor mill is never kind to the Sacramento Kings. On Friday it was Willie Cauley-Stein’s name who came up in potential moves. And on Saturday, multiple reports have veteran forward Omri Casspi requesting a trade from the city he has called home for the last three seasons. But once again, this might be another case of much ado about nothing. “Zero truth to that. Zero,” Casspi told CSN California via text.
According to multiple sources, Casspi’s agent met with the Kings this week to discuss his role with the team. But he did not request a trade at that time. There is no question that Casspi isn’t exactly excited about his role with Kings this season. After averaging 11.8 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range in 27.2 minutes per game last season, he has struggled to find a footing in new head coach Dave Joerger’s rotation.
Miami has explored numerous options, one of which is Sacramento's Omri Casspi, who entered Tuesday's play at 42.2 percent from behind the arc, 11th in the NBA among players with at least 100 attempts. He's 89 of 211, which would be the most conversions on the Heat, eight more than Chris Bosh. He's also reasonably young (27) and cheap (on a two-year, $6 million contract).
So it's not likely, without including a draft choice -- and Miami can't trade a first-rounder before the 2024 draft -- that Miami can just dump cap space (in the form of, say, Chris Andersen's contract) on Sacramento. It may need to include a player of some value, and sources say Sacramento has expressed interest in Tyler Johnson, even though Johnson may miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.
