Parker to Kings being discussed?
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to reveal that the Spurs were in discussion to trade Tony Parker in a deal that would include a high lottery draft pick. Now, per Wojnarowski's Twitter feed, there is a rumor that Parker to the Kings has been discussed more thoroughly.
If Spurs deal Tony Parker to Kings for 7th pick, expect Omri Caspi to be part of package, sources say. RC Buford has been long fond of him.
The Kings coaching staff, in win-now mode to stay employed, are fully behind trading the 7th pick for an established player, sources say.
Omri Casspi is a 22-year old, 6'9 small forward from Israel. He was drafted in 2009 by the Sacramento Kings with the 29th pick in the first round. He averaged 10.3 points per game in his rookie season and 8.6 points per game this previous season. He would still need help on his shooting as he shot 41% from the field this past season and 37% from behind the arc. An upside to Casspi is his length on the perimeter; he averaged 0.8 steals per game this previous season and had a player efficiency rating of 11.76.
Playing against the Spurs on March 11, 2011, Casspi finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 6-9 FG (67% FG), 2-4 3PT (50% 3PT).
If put into the right situation, Casspi can grow and become a very solid role player on a winning team.
Project Spurs will keep you updated on the latest news revolving around Parker and the NBA draft.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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I say this in the nicest way possible, but it would be epic fail to trade Parker for Casspi and the #7 pick in one of the worst drafts in the past 10-15 years.
I HAVE to believe Parker has much more trade value than that around the league. He'll still be an elite PG throughout most, if not all, of the duration of his current (and reasonable) contract.
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My gut was no way to this... I love Parker and what he has done for this team, what he can still do... but if we got Casspi and the #7 pick... AND we save a ton of salary to chase a big free agent... with George able to fill in... and able to get a lot younger... I'm thinking this is actually a painful, yet smart trade for both teams. Parker's news the past several months has been poor, from the Brent Barry thing - to the divorce - to the miserable performance (overall) in the playoffs - to his recent comments about the rest of the team going forward, he hasn't endeared himself to Spurs mgt. We (Spurs) don't like to take care of problem children, and answering repeated questions about negative comments by a player. Bottom line... we are old. Maybe not too old for one more run, but its borderline and we have to build a bridge to our future. TP still has great trade value. We'll miss him... but I don't think the team will miss him as much as some of ya'll think. Statistically the Spurs were better with George on the floor than TP... looking at the production of the rest of the team. We'll miss the experience, but that didn't seem to help us when he was playing poorly against the Grizz.
@Ironwill71 i somewhat agree, but i'm tired of everyone using the "old" excuse because this team is not that old anymore, and really hasn't been since after we traded for RJ. the core (Duncan and Ginobili, specifically, along with 29-year-old Parker) might be old, but not the team as a whole. I love Parker as well, and i will repeat it again, i still think w/ a few minor changes, we can have one more run with the Big 3, but if we have to trade him, i think he's worth more than the 7th pick and Cassipi.
@RG8907 Our core is old(er). Our bench is younger. A team's starters/core that puts in the big minutes is what puts them in position to win championships, not the bench. A good bench can put you over the top, but your core gets you there. Setting that point aside as ancillary... this is more than us just being old... this is about our future, cap room, addressing weaknesses, getting a great draft pick we can build around. I trust Spurs mgt (though terribly weakened without Presti)... if they think there are a couple guys who could help us right away, or be a protege for TD, I think there is a lot of good that could come from trading TP. I think we're ok without doing it... Anderson healthy, more PT for Splitter, Blair development, another year for RJ... but I think we could be better if we do.
@Ironwill71 agreed. and i know we're not replacing TP with a draft pick, and i have full trust in Hill, but i don't think it's worth trading him for a prospect that we'd have to wait for after the Duncan era. but i agree, i think we had the team to win it, and with a few changes, we can make another run.
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@RG8907 Its a risk either way... but we're not replacing TP with a draft pick, we're replacing TP with George, who has statisically made the team better (thant TP) when he is on the floor... plus we add Casspi, plus add big free agent with the increased cap room, plus we add the draft pick. This to go along with the rest of the remaining cast getting healthy/improving (Anderson, Splitter, Blair, etc).
That being said... though I am playing devil's advocate somewhat and see merits in the trade, I don't think it'll happen because of what others have said (most of all Buford). TP is a finals MVP who has shown he can get it done. Everyone played poorly against the Grizz, putting too much on any person to overcome by themselves, which is what I think happened (the core individually was pressing, missing shots they would usually make). If you listened to the Pop interview, he was most frustrated because we had the team to win we just didn't perform. Hopefully we won't have another big injury at the worst time this year (a la Manu).
@Ironwill71 yea i know the core is old, that's why i said it. lol. but like i said, the team as a whole isn't. i still think this core can get it done, even if it's old. take a look at the Mavs, for example, with their thirty-something year old vets. i trust R.C. and Pop, and as i said, we have been starting to build for the future (Hill, Splitter, and even the guys still in Europe like De Colo and Richards), but if we want to get Timmy that 5th ring, which i'm hoping for, why trade an experienced Finals MVP for a protege in the future? i know we definitely need to bring in someone to help the frontcourt, and i think with the way R.C. and Pop are at finding the right players, they'll find a way to make some changes w/out trading TP. i guess we'll see what happens, but i did just post in the RJ article, and this is from mysa.com, that R.C. said he's not shopping anyone.
@Ironwill71 not to mention, we kinda already started building a bridge to our future w/ Hill, Blair, Splitter, etc. and plus, i think Pop, Tim, and Manu will miss Tony a lot because they are the ones that have known him for so long and know what he can bring.
too risky. unless the Spurs front office have something up their sleeve, i'm sorry, but i'm saying no deal to this. it's like i said, though, rumors are just rumors.
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Really???
Trade a championship winning PG, and one of the better PG's in the entire league, for basically the 7th pick in one of the most terrible drafts in years?!? I don't believe it. And I have no idea why the Spurs would do that. I don't like that trade for you guys at all.
I don't think I would hate Parker for Casspi, Jason Thompson and #7. Thompson and Casspi would give the Spurs a ton of potential, some great length in the front court (which they don't have right now) or if they can simply be trade chips for another player. As for the pick I like Tristan Thompson or Bismack Biyombo here. This move could also save the Spurs about 8-10 million in cap space. With Duncan also coming off the books next season, the Spurs would have a ton of flexibility in 2012, something they don't currently have.
@yowhatupT i would think the spurs would need a back up point guard though, would they not consider a kemba walker at 7? im ok with caspi and j thompson and the pick for parker personally, i dont think toronto has anything worth messing with outside of the 5 pick in a weak draft. next year would be a much better year to move up from what i hear but you take what you can get.
