The Sacramento Kings have permitted Omri Casspi’s representatives to start searching around the league for teams potentially interested in acquiring him, according to a new ESPN.com report:
The closest thing to a trade lock in the California capital is the exit of the popular Casspi, whose representatives have been blessed by the Kings to search out potential deals now that the versatile swingman — coming off the best year of his career — has been exiled from the rotation by new coach Dave Joerger.
Omri Casspi has been at the center of trade speculation for much of the month, as he’s seemingly fallen out of coach Dave Joerger’s rotation. After averaging 11.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 27.2 minutes last season, he’s averaged just 4.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 17.1 minutes in only seven games this year.
Casspi, according to a report from earlier in the month, requested to Kings management that he be moved to a new team. He later denied this in a text to CSNCalifornia’s James Ham. “Zero truth to that. Zero”, Casspi texted.
Regardless, Casspi’s agent, Dan Fegan, did recently meet with Kings management to discuss his client’s role with the club. The relationship between Casspi and various members of the Kings franchise is considered to be underwhelming, especially with head coach Dave Joerger.
Joerger, who’s in his first season as Kings coach, hasn’t spoken with Casspi since the preseason, according to Casspi (via Matt George of CowbellKingdom).
Earlier this week, head coach Dave Joerger held a team meeting to announce his permanent rotation going forward. Casspi was nowhere on it. He was asked if he had gotten any kind of explanation or one-on-one time with Joerger.
“We haven’t talked since preseason. It was a team-wide meeting only,” Casspi said.
The sudden poor relationship between Sacramento and Omri Casspi, who’s in his third straight season and second stint with the team, likely comes as alarming to some Kings fans. Casspi, along with the likes of Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Darren Collison and other players, have seen their names in the rumor mill at some point this year.
The self-confused, irrational franchise known as the Kings have plenty of cleaning up and roster re-adjusting to do; The team has been a prime source for trade rumors, locker room disputes and internal conflicts for many months.
Trading Omri Casspi to acquire something valuable now, rather than allowing him to walk without compensation in free agency next summer, seems like a logical move for many league observers. But for the Kings, sometimes, the logical move doesn’t always seem so logical behind-the-scenes.
