Oded Katash

Oded Katash: A NEW York Knick?

by Scott Granowitz Oded Katash

July, 1998--Just hours before the NBA's lockout began at midnight on July 1st, the New York Knicks and Israeli star Oded Katash verbally agreed to terms that would bring Katash to the Big Apple for the 1998-99 NBA season. Katash, a 6'4" point-guard from Givataim, a northern suburb of Tel-Aviv, would become the first Israeli to play in the NBA. The 23-year-old Katash is coming off a great year with Maccabi Tel-Aviv in which he averaged 19.6 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in the European League. Last summer at the European Championships, Katash's 22.0 points per game for the Israeli National Team was the best average among all tournament scorers.

Katash impressed the Knicks and club President and General Manager Ernie Grunfeld at a private workout in late June, after working out for the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers. The Knicks have been rumored to be considering trading away one of their current point guards, Chris Childs or Charlie Ward, neither having lived up to expectations, thus the interest in Katash. Additional teams expressed interest, but there was not enough time to schedule any further workouts. Due to the NBA lockout, teams are prohibited from conducting business, workouts, or other formal communication with players or media until a settlement is reached between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.

However, Katash's American based agent, Marc Fleisher of Connecticut-based Entersport Management, was available for comment. Through a telephone interview with JewishSports.com, Fleisher said the Knicks "indicated a strong desire to sign Oded as soon as the lockout ends." Whether a future contract will be a one-year or multi-year agreement will be decided after the lockout. In accordance with company policy, Fleisher declined to discuss any financial terms of the impending contract.

When questioned how sincere the Knicks interest in Katash was, Fleisher responded in an assuring manner that their interest was in fact genuine and not related to the large Jewish and Israeli population in the New York metropolitan region.

"I can assure you they [the Knicks] are really interested since I sat through the workout with them," Fleisher said. "Oded played very, very well... The New York Knicks sell out every game regardless of whether they have a Jewish player on the team or not... I know the Knicks quite well. Ernie Grunfeld would not have interest in a player as sort of a fad. He's interested in Oded because he believes Oded's got a lot of potential. Oded is a phenomenal scorer, which is something the Knicks have sorely needed in the past few years and that potential is something that has not gone past Ernie."

Fleisher represents a stockpile of talented basketball players from America and in particular Europe. Five of his European clients were named European All-Stars by FIBA last season. In addition to Katash, the others were Dejan Bodiroga (Yugoslavia), Aleksandar Djordjevic (Yugoslavia), Damir Mulaomerovic (Croatia), and former Boston Celtic Dino Radja (Croatia). Fleisher believes that Katash has rightly set his goals high and has taken a gigantic step towards reaching the NBA.

"He's ambitious," Fleisher said. "Unlike a lot of other players who are just happy to play where they are."

Katash's great penetrating ability, quick release, ball handling, and accurate shooting are keys to his possible success with the Knicks. He still needs to improve his weight conditioning and defense, which Katash will continue doing throughout the summer. The current plan is for Katash to find a home in New York in August before the lockout ends and to workout with his trainer at a private facility to be arranged by Fleisher. Katash left New York to return home shortly after the lockout began.

Katash's imminent burst upon the NBA scene comes at a time when the career of the NBA's only Jewish player for over a decade, veteran Danny Schayes, may be coming to an end in the near future. Ironically, the last time two Jews were active in the NBA at the same time was during the 1984-85 season, when Schayes was playing for the Denver Nuggets and Grunfeld was closing out his playing career for the Knicks. Another ironic twist to the story is that Katash and Knick Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy met during the spring of 1996 upon arriving in New York on his way towards South Carolina when Clemson University was recruiting him. Katash later decided to sign a 3-year contract with Maccabi Tel-Aviv at the time, an agreement that has an escape clause after the second year that has allowed him to pursue his NBA dream.

The last Israeli player with serious hopes to make the NBA was Doron Sheffer, who starred for the University of Connecticut from 1993-1996. He was selected in the 2nd round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Clippers, but decided to return home in the summer after not being offered a guaranteed contract. Three other Israeli players in the past have attended summer free-agent camps with respective NBA clubs, Doron Jamchy with the Washington Bullets in 1990, Nadav Henefeld with the Boston Celtics in 1993, and Adi Gordon with the Seattle Supersonics in 1993. Israeli basketball legend Mickey Berkowitz had offers from the Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets in the early 1980's, but a contract with Maccabi Tel-Aviv stood in the way.