WASHINGTON, D.C. – While Kings coach Paul Westphal said all along that it was a good problem to have, it was a problem nonetheless.
The return of injured shooting guard Kevin Martin on Friday night meant the rotation would be pinched and players possibly peeved. Sure enough, it happened right away.
Omri Casspi and Westphal had a brief-but-heated exchange in the second half of that night's loss against the Sixers, when the rookie small forward – who was already frustrated with his shortage of offensive opportunities – didn't want to be taken out of the game. A day later, Casspi and Westphal said the issue was resolved immediately.
Westphal, however, certainly doesn't want it to happen again.
"I think Omri is super-competitive, and we want players who are super-competitive, but we've got to control our emotions, too," he said. "He got a little upset about coming out of the game. Everybody gets upset about coming out of a game, (but) he is in a fight for playing time as well as in a fight with the other team. You have to focus your fight towards the other team and do as well as you can and make the most of your playing time."
Casspi, the Kings' No. 23 pick who has widely been considered the steal of the non-lottery portion of the draft, hasn't capitalized on his playing time lately. In the Kings' loss at Philadelphia, he was 2 of 6 from the field in 32 minutes and took only two shots in the fourth quarter.
Westphal made it clear afterward that Casspi's starting small forward spot was by no means secure. Casspi started the Washington game, but second-year small forward Donté Greene started the second half. Casspi hit just 3 of 9 shots and had six points against the Wizards in 24 minutes.
"I've been on the team 40 games, and even when I had bad days, I never had an argument or fight with nobody," Casspi said. "(The outburst) was part of the game. I got frustrated a little bit in the third quarter. I didn't really feel involved in the offense."
While Casspi will not be fined, Westphal said he is not averse to doing so.
"If I think it's called for, that's certainly a weapon," he said. "But it hasn't come to that yet with anybody. It's like they say, You can't legislate morality. Well, you can't legislate professionalism."
Going forward – After playing just two minutes Friday, Greene – a Baltimore native – hit 3 of 6 shots and had seven points and four rebounds in 21 minutes while playing in front of a familiar crowd.
"I just got out there with my defense, trying to contain Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison (combined 33 points)," Greene said.
• Andres Nocioni continued to see a dip in his playing time, as he has logged a combined nine minutes in the last two games. Newly acquired big man Hilton Armstrong again did not play in his second game with the Kings.
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