Kevin Serpahin is headed to the Indiana Pacers this season on a two-year deal. This comes on the heels of one season with the New York Knicks following his five-year stint with the Washington Wizards.
Seraphin has long been known as a backup who made up for some deficiencies with his skilled post-ups. But that has not always been enough to get him playing time, leading to some tough times with the Wizards.
In an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe, Seraphin revealed that he repeatedly asked the Wizards to trade him and was denied.
The following translated by Jorge Sierra of Hoopshype:
“Every year from my second season, I asked for a trade,” Seraphin said. “And every year it was the same thing: ‘We love you, we do not want to see you leave, you have a lot of potential.’ There was even a point when they said, ‘If we do not get an All-Star in return, we will not trade Kevin.'”
“(The year Paul Pierce arrived) may have been the hardest for me because I was really in shape. My playing time fluctuated without reason. I spoke a lot with Paul (Pierce) and John (Wall). And they did not understand. This summer, I met a staff member of the Wizards in a New York restaurant. He said, ‘Your problem is that you got Randy Wittman.'”
Well to be fair, pretty much everyone on the Wizards had a Randy Wittman problem.
The year Serpahin is alluding to is the 2014-15 season. Despite putting up some of the best statistical production of his career (15.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists per 36 minutes on 51.3% shooting) Seraphin only saw the floor for 15.6 minutes per game. Seraphin’s playing time only dwindled in the postseason despite some great performances.
Now that he is in Indiana, Seraphin will be looking for more playing time. But he may find it difficult to get that on the Pacers, as well. Indiana will be looking to develop sophomore big man Myles Turner and also added Thaddeus Young and Al Jefferson in the offseason.
Kevin Seraphin’s ceiling is similar to Jefferson but he has not proven it on a large-scale production. Would the Pacers be willing to give the playing time to a younger player while in the midst of a playoff race? Time will only tell but Seraphin will be looking for more opportunities.
