CASSPI

At 6-foot-9, 225lbs, Casspi, is a work in progress. He is a capable shooter, rebounder and ball handler, but he does not excel in any one area and is not considered particularly athletic.

Jason Levien, the Kings’ assistant general manager, said the franchise was drawn to Casspi for his passion, toughness and tenacity. The word energy comes up often.

“That’s his specialty,” said David Thorpe, an analyst for ESPN, who watched Casspi during the summer league. “Energy in the N.B.A. is a real talent.”

Even with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Casspi’s value was never evident in the raw statistics but in the results.

“He’s fearless,” said Coach Shamir. “When he was on the floor, good things would happen for them.”

Hasselbeck - Off Season Training

Turning his thoughts to the upcoming season, Hasselbeck says so far he believes the team is putting in the work necessary to rebound from a 4-12 season.

"Everyone has really put in the effort this offseason. We report July 31st and everyone has been working real hard these six weeks on our own, wherever their hometown is or wherever they’ve been working out and they get to come back and show off what they’ve done."

"We’ve got a conditioning test on the 31st, we weigh in, we’ve got a body fat test, we have our first practice and you can send a message without saying a word, you can send it to your teammates, to the coaches, to everybody and say ‘I’ve really put the work in, how about you?’ and I think the feeling is that everybody’s really bought it and put the work in."

COMPETITIVENESS

"When talent is roughly equal, the competitive guys win. You have to have that in this league to win." Sacramento Kings coach Paul Westphal