Omri Casspi. Kings took him with our 23rd pick this year. This guy is a 6'9 SF averaging 10 ppg 3.7 rbp 1 ast on 50+% fg and 50+% 3pt fg. Looking a lot like the second coming of Rudy Fernandez. I'm kinda sad now.
Wouldn't he be redundant with Budinger around? Chase is a couple of inches shorter, but can play SG/SF and has been really solid for us.
Who is to say the Rockets would have picked Casspi? I don't think this kind of "what ifs" are all that useful. Just too speculative. Too much "Back to the Future" sci-fi time travel hypothesis. If the Rockets didn't get Artest, would they end up with Ariza? Remember, Ariza became attainable because the Lakers refused to pay him more due to having Artest as an option. Artest became an option because the Rockets traded for him, he did well enough, but the Rockets didn't figure him as a part of a long term future. If the Rockets had their 23rd pick, plus Donte Greene in his 2nd year, would they have bought the 32nd, 33, and 44th pick? Would they have though "man, we have a lot of young guys" and not buy more picks or buy more overseas picks (like Sergio Llull) instead?
Casspi's a SF/PF. He seemed to be slightly taller than Landry. Who knows, maybe the Rockets can still get him this season...
This is the first time I see someone that averages better 3p% to FT%. Its not like he fluke a jack-ed up 3p, he actually took 41 3p attempt so far this season.
with the possibility of not having Bud, Taylor, and maybe even Andersen. Let me know if you want more milk (spilt) because frankly I'm good with what happen. Butterfly effect. Or you can think of it like this. Casspi + Greene and one year Artest rental or Ariza, Bud, Taylor and Andersen? I'll take the latter.
Another thing to think about is we're loaded at the SF/PF, why would we get him at that pick regardless of the Artest/Ariza situation. I swear sometimes people see a draft number and automatically think that was our pick we could have had him not even paying attention to the team position needs and he clearly wasnt a needed position.
I really think the rockets gave a pick too many. Ron was on the last year in his contract and he was demanding a trade and giving the Kings a headache before his trade to the Rockets. But I'm not really sad that we didn't have the 23rd pick in last years draft because alot of the players we wanted them to draft ( Blair, Sam Young) dropped to the second round and the rockets still passed on them.
