Donté Greene vs. Omri Casspi: The Beginning

I think Casspi is more likely to have a successful NBA career. Yet at the same time, how can someone NOT root for Donte? I am not as high on him as other people here are but I sure as heck can’t root against him. And the same goes for Casspi just because I love to watch an insane competitor go all out.

His athleticism was the deciding factor for me.

The length and athleticism is too much to ignore. I also like his improvement on the defensive end last year.

I think Casspi’s more of a sure thing NBA player. He may not be a superstar but he’ll be a damn fine role player for years to come. Donte could be better if he ever lives up to some of that untapped potential. I pray for this nightly. Either way, both of these guys work their asses off and both of these guys want to win. They don’t complain. They don’t sulk. They just hustle. One of them will start but the other will still bring it off the bench. They’ll both try their hardest and probably make at least one bonehead move a game. But that’s okay, we love little mistakes in the name of hustle (I’m looking at you Flaco).

Consider me a conscientious objector

I think he has better potential to be a great defender.

I love the Team Donte vs. Team Omri lol . Genius from Ziller as usual.

Should be noted, I would not be disappointed AT ALL if Omri won the battle.

Especially since the last two big time Kings’ starting spot battles that come to my mind are Martin vs Salmons and Shareef vs K9(woof!). Not exactly awe inspiring in my book

But I think he’s more ideally situated to come off the bench. Donte, has some RIDICULOUS UPSIDE, and if he taps that potential, he could be an all-star. So I’m rooting for them both. But I hope that if Donte’ wins the starting role, it’s because he’s better than Omri, which makes BOTH very good players and Omri is bound to be a solid NBA player for many years.

For 2 main reasons. First, having 3 guys in our starting lineup who are more or less 7 feet tall.

Next, I think Donte is the guy to blend in and do the dirty deeds in the starting lineup. He should be the guy that doesn’t get noticed. Omri will be better at being more prominent on the 2nd unit.

Having said that, the margin in all this is slim. I would be happy with either.

But I think that Omri, with his enormous amounts of energy, would be perfect as a sixth man. I remember a game last in the season last year when Omri was coming off the bench, and when Westphal told him to sub in, he practically ripped off his warmups and ran to the table. I think that his sheer desire to play would make him an excellent sixth man.

He brings the best out of Jerry Reynolds.

Or “Crystal Pepsi vs. Coke Clear”
Or “Depends vs. Just Shitting Myself”

With a gun to my head, I went Greene.

but I went with Team Omri because I think his outside game is a little more consistent than Dontè’s and we need that a lot

First off, I’m glad they are both on the team. If i had to pick one, it’d be Greene. I think he has the potential to have a skill set similar to Lamar Odom’s or Jeff Green. Of course he has things to work on, which is what happens when you leave college early, but I think he’ll develop. This season will be key to telling us if there’s more to his game or if this is all he’s got.

so I voted Casspi.

But I voted for Casspi, he seems more focused.

because with his length, he could be an insane SF if he gets his game together. I also have to root for the guy because he is so dang funny and likable. But I voted for Omri because of his fire and because he showed more than fist half of last year than Greene ever has for any lengthy stretch.

But in my ideal world, they provide an awesome one-twp punch at the three and we are set at that position for years to come.

The guy brings so many more fans to the table >read: Jews< who otherwise wouldn’t attend or watch Kings games, a great asset to have for the future of our beloved franchise.

And Donté has come a long way from that immature knucklehead that we saw in the 08-09 season. One thing I’ll always respect about the guy is his 100% team attitude during the games. I would LOVE to see Donté become an integral part of the next great Kings team.

However, I voted for Casspi. I think he’s already a better basketball player than Donté and has nearly as much potential – which he’s more likely to reach IMO.

I hope having both of these guys turns out to be one of those “great problems to have”. This team has been talent deprived for so long, it would be nice if both of these guys developed into solid NBA players.

He’s a better shooter from distance and off the catch and shoot. We’ll need that ability to space the floor with Landry and ’Reke taking up the paint.

Also, I think Donte’ is a little more versatile in that he can play more positions, he can slide to the 2 in a pinch and (even though we’d be sacrificing rebounding) up to the 4. He’s an improving shooter as well, and looks to set up his teammates as well. Again, versatility on the bench.

I see Omri more as a traditional 3 (who due to his rebounding) could play spot minutes at the 4 and again I think we are going to need his abilities as a shooter to space the floor.

long […] passionate, promising […] so long […] ride

Ai… Aileene?

Fans forget he was fantastic the first few months of his rookie season. Donte first two years in the league he did not look like he belonged. Huge difference in learning curves. Omri picked the NBA game quickly, learning when and where he could score within the offense. Donte still figuring this out.

I like both players, but I give the nod to Omri. I think it is important to note players chart their own development curves. Donte had to mature as a person, and as an athlete and player, and to his credit, he has done that by leaps and bounds. Omri came into the league with more maturity and professional experience, and so the transition has been smoother.

I think with Nocionni out of the picture both guys have golden opportunities to make their mark on the league. If one or both breakout this year, it will be huge for the Kings and their win column prospects.

I look for Omri and Donte to contribute when they are not making three point shots, to rebound, get out in transition, create resistance defensively. Both have to be able to score with mid game and drives into the lane. The key for both will be developing all around game that does not depend on sinking the long ball. Whoever can prove to be most versatile, in addition to being a threat from deep, will earn the most time.

Overall I think the competition for minutes is great, and will make them better players.

For now, I’m not going to vote. I want to see them play a little bit to see for myself how they’ve improved.

As of now though, I’d probably vote for Donté because I think that Omri would work better off the bench than Donté would because of his hustle, toughness, energy and rebounding.

Both of these guys can be really special. Donté has more potential (He’s 3rd on my list of Kings with the potential to be a star, with Reke and DMC ahead. Omri would be close behind in 4th in my books), while Omri is more ready to contribute immediately, and probably likelier to fulfill his potential.

Either way, I would not mind if the Kings SF position was occupied by these two for the next 5 or 6 years. They can be a deadly combo.

You do gotta good point there Bench Blob but I would like it better if Donte is the starter because he’s shown the better longevity throughout the season. Omri wore down as the season progressed. So having him come of the bench behind Donte would be best suited for the team.

Now I’m not gonna be angry if Omri starts but I feel that if all that training he’s done doesn’t pan out, he’s gonna be inactive for some games as the regular season comes to an end.

I voted for Omri as he has demonstrated the better ability so far, but I like the idea of Donte starting and Omri coming off the bench as the energy guy.

I could see the backup playing more minutes than the starter so that both players “win.”

If it doesn’t work out, I expect Francisco to play at the 3 as well, particularly at the end of games. But he has his own question marks to sort out.

I’ve also heard some talk of Landry playing some at the three, but I doubt that happens.

I still feel this is the squad’s weakest link, and it’s up to Omri and Donte to seize the challenge and prove the doubters wrong. We saw the difference a strong Omri had in the first half last season, and we need to see that kind of effort and productivity for 82 games if we are to continue to improve as a team.

why Garcia wouldn’t be in the discussion for the starting three position? Beno and Tyreke had an effective backcourt last season and I didn’t really understand TZ’s line

But with Andres Nocioni gone, Francisco Garcia needed in the backcourt and assistant coach Mario Elie basically announcing that the staff will be paying close attention to how Greene and Casspi respond to this challenge, the table is really set, beginning today in Las Vegas.

P.S. Is there anyone else besides me counting down to 3PM today? GO KINGS!!

with the long, athletic bodies of guys with a lot of Upside.

Omri will run that road, and hear the bones crunch under his sneakers as he will run past the likes of Brandan Wright, Julian Wright, Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons, Chris Taft, Josh Boone, and Jermareo Davidson trudging along to find some spot at the end of the pine for some team.

I hope that Greene reaches his potential (which has often a bit lower ceiling than that tantalizing view of the sky that Upside offers), but he has ways to go.

In the meantime, I have much higher hopes and reason to believe that Omri will show that the first part of last season was not a fluke, with the exception of his 3 point shot. He’s realistically not a .400 3p% shooter (yet), and I hope he will not try too much to become one, but play to his strengths.

Obviously, I’m rooting for both guys to succeed. Let the best man win, and let the other guy win 6th man of the year.

For now, I voted for Omri. Based simply on how he started last season. If his conditioning has improved and he can pace himself in how he practices (I still want him going all-out, every single game), I think he could emerge as the better player.

But I still love Donté. Great attitude, ridiculous potential.

Ziller said it best:

But you know who the real winner will be?

Us.

To CrownedPotential & Sactown’s Finest you guys just said some good stuff…

To be honest I feel Garcia should really be our starting small forward but seeing that the kings are trying to go young, they’re gonna make Garcia come off the bench. However, don’t rule out Westphal making Garcia the starting 3 cuz remember he didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself last year thanks to that exercise ball.

Now It could be nice to see Landry play the small forward spot but I think his quickness would be a problem. He would have to keep up with average small fowards who are usually quicker than himself. It would be interesting but I see him being our starting 4.

I checked before I started writing. I had no idea you had posted yours, when I posted mine. This was just a complete coincidence. You did beat me to it, though. My apologies.

And though it may cost me my Temple B’nai Israel discount card, I voted Donté, for no better reason than the fact that the kid cracks me up.

That said, I’m pulling for both of these guys (sofffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft).

Perfect harmony.

For some reason, I feel we have more invested, as far as time. and that his Ceiling is Higher IMO.
but from the dept of redundancy, having both of these players Improve is only a good thing.

He has been better in most situations but I’m also with everyone stating that having both of them fight for the job and improve in the process is a very good thing. I’m rooting for both of them even though I picked Omri.

To Blowfishee

That’s good you put it that way with consistency first then durability second, however.. Donte plays defense a little better than Omri and I know you remember when DG F***** Kobe up that first meeting we had. When you think about how Tyreke doesn’t play defense all that well at this stage yet and that Beno is a bit small to be guarding an average shooting guard you would need your 3 to swing over to guard him so I feel that Donte should get the nod for that reason with his durability coming in second

But I see so much potential in Greene as a “do everything” type of player. I think Omri has great potential as well, but a bit more specialized than all around.

i think it is better for the Kings if he puts it all together and wins. His potential is much greater I think.

One is not better than the other. These are two players who are both NBA talent. They are both capable and talented to play the SF. The both come with their own uniqueness and that is not comparable.

At this point in both of their career I think it is premature to say who is better. Defensively I take Donte over Omri in defending Carmello or LeBron because they are just so damned strong. I take Omri over Donte’ on the smaller and quicker SFs.

Offensively they are on par, for the most part, with each other. Stats aren’t everything and you have to take into account upside, IMO. Donte’ was basically a rookie last year. You can’t really count his first year because he was not developed at all. Whereas you also have to taking into account that Omri has had several years of playing pro-Israeli ball.

At this point Donte’ has huge upside with some major gains last year. Omri has, IMO, a tad bit less upside because he has already developed that talent to a higher degree. It does seem like Donte’s may lead to a better player, but that ain’t so until it is there. There is no there there, yet.

Donte’ is a phenomenally gifted athlete, but has to harness that raw gift into the mold of the NBA game. Athleticism is just not enough. Similarly and conversely, Omri has the skills refined to a higher degree, but has to build his stamina. Skills alone are not enough.

In many ways these players are each on a different spectrum and converse of each other. I refuse to vote because I need more information to tip the balance one way or the other. It is just too close to call.
  

But I truly believe no matter who starts or who comes off the bench, the Kings will be the real winners. I want them both to be successful in Sacramento and help the team get deep in the playoffs. Doesn’t matte who starts, I’d love to have them both here for the long run.

I also wish we were all rooting for both guys instead of trying to pick favorites.

Donté’s versatility may send him to the bench. If it comes down to a coin flip between these two, I could see Omri getting the nod, as Greene’s ability to play 3 different positions (depending on the matchups) would make him invaluable as a bench piece.

I like these guys both equally yet I feel as if Donte should be the starting 3. Omri is a great scorer, he can pass and all that but Donte Greene is very athletic and has good defense. After watching Miami land the new Big 3, we’re going to need all the defensive help we can get and Omri just can’t do that yet. Omri on Lebron? At least with Greene guarding him we all know Lebron will have to work for buckets. I’m rolling with Team Donte and will be purchasing his shirt as well. Ring me up!!

I gave Omri the starting nod mostly due to his consistency. I think you want production you can count on in your starting lineup. Maybe Donté shows much more consistency throughout this season, but for now I think you’ve got to have more faith in Casspi’s production. Ultimately, I still think Donté has more potential and probably will be the better player. He’s really starting to become an exciting jack-of-all-trades type player (though with a total lack of rebounding heretofore) and once his savvy and comfort on the court catch up to his skill and athleticism, he could honestly dominate games.

I suppose in the end, despite my participation in this poll, my heart is all Team Omté.