Nets Moving Down A Legitimate Possibility
by Sebastian Pruiti
Jun 16, 2009 2009 Draft, Omri Casspi, Rumors
Despite the fact that Rod Thorn and Kiki have been telling everyone who would listen that they are not moving from the 11th pick, it seems like the Nets moving down is a legitimate possibility. Why would they move down? Omri Casspi. Check out what Jonathan Givony has to say on the situation in his latest Word On The Street:
One team that might be interested in moving down in this draft is New Jersey, as they are reportedly very high on Israeli Omri Casspi, but may not want to invest such a high pick on him.
Now the Nets have been interested in Casspi for some time now (right before the Chicago Combine), and it appears that he just continues to impress. He had two group workouts in New Jersey and an individual one and the Nets are still interested, so that has to mean something. Now why not just pick Casspi with the 11th pick? While Casspi is a solid player, he would be a reach at 11. If we can get something along with trading down (like a second round pick), moving down would be a nice move.
For those who are interested in what Casspi can do, here is a little excerpt from Jonathan Givony’s New Jersey Group Workout Wrap-Up (Austin Daye fans pay attention to who Casspi is doing this to):
“Austin Daye vs. Omri Casspi turned into a real wrestling match. Casspi just manhandled Daye, really threw him around. It was a bit disappointing to see how little Daye was able to compete from a strength perspective—Casspi is a kind of a skinny guy himself. At one point Casspi cut Daye’s lip open–he had to go to hospital for stitches. The Nets should have done a better job of getting someone to call fouls. Casspi was fouling the hell out of Daye. Some of the guys were looking at each other like ‘what are we watching here?’
Casspi was impressive, just like he’s been everywhere he’s gone. He plays hard, competes. He hit tough shots. Step-backs, runners. Then he missed some wide open J’s—go figure. He hits the toughest shots, but can’t always make the easiest ones. He looked like he could be a great complementary player in a 5 on 5. Definitely an atypical player for a European. “
Toughness is something that the Nets frontcourt (besides Brook) lacks, so I am all for someone who likes to bang inside.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:19 PM
casspi battles and fights all game long,
but has no scoring ability.
his jump shot not consistent and he has no offensive moves – except attacking the basket fearlessly.
could be a good role player – BUT is never going to average more the 5 points a game in NBA.
NETS WANT HIM BECAUSE HE WILL SELL ALOT OF TICKETS BEING THE FIRST ISRAELI PLAYER TO EVER MAKE IT nba.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:48 PM
austin daye is the opposite of omri casspi: talented and skilled, but soft as a marshmallow and as weak as can be. i’ve watched him since high school (he’s from my hometown) and he’s always been almost pathetically weak, but his size and skills allowed him to be effective. i don’t see him getting that much stronger either.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:40 PM
The Nets dont want him because he would sell tickets. Bunch of bull…he has been impressive at a lot of workouts. Having seen a lot of video of you, I can say your analysis is quite limited.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Thanks for the comments everyone. We can’t ignore the fact that with Casspi being the first Israeli, he will sell tickets. I don’t think that is why we would draft him though. Kid is a warrior, and we need that in our frontcourt. Plain and simple.
Hearing that the Spurs are very interested in Casspi puts me at ease when thinking about this possibility. I have watched a couple videos on him, but I don’t know too much, but if the Spurs (they have a great track record getting guys from Europe) like him, I like him.
June 18th, 2009 at 4:19 AM
I really havent seen Casspi so I’m sorry to talk without knowing but… why “tough”, “complementary player” (I understand there team player, maybe I’m wrong) and “Definitely an atypical player for a European” are in the same paragraph? I can’t see how he’d be different from thousands of europeans?
June 18th, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Thanks for the comment Roberto. I am not saying the assumption is true, but there is an assumption that European players are soft.
From the workout reports, it is becoming obvious that Casspi isn’t soft. That is all.