Omri Casspi (F, New Orleans Pelicans/Waivers), Israel
Height: 2.06m, 6-foot-9 | Weight: 102.1kg, 225 pounds | Born: 22 June 1988
Omri Casspi's made a career out of firsts.
Now, after they've begun to dry up – which is to say, after he's personally checked most of them off – he gets a chance at another.
The first Israeli selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, the first Israeli to touch the floor in an NBA game, the first to score, the first to start, the first to reach the playoffs and the first to do a whole lot more is now facing another first: the waiver wire.
After being waived by the New Orleans Pelicans on July 23, largely a financial/salary cap move after Casspi was traded from Houston to NOLA, the sixth-year forward will start 2014-15 with a potential fifth NBA team. Unless, of course, the Kings submit a waiver claim and bring him back to the place where he started his career, averaging 10.3 points a game as a rookie in 2009-10.
In short, any team can submit a waiver claim and pick up Casspi. If more than one team does, priority goes to the club with the worse record last year.
Whoever picks him up will have an asset. The ever-versatile wing's coming off his most productive season in three years, putting up 6.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and tying a career-high 1.2 assists per game. Quietly, he also put up his best-ever NetRtg (simply, when he's on the floor, how many points his team outscores the opponent per 100 possessions) in 2013-14, at +6.2. His previous best? Negative 2.9 with the Kings in 2009-10.
Sure, he played for the best team of his career last year, which accounts for much of that. But Houston had one of the league's least productive benches in 2013-14, with the sixth-worst efficiency differential, per HoopsStat. Casspi remained a bright spot, and for a team looking to improve its depth, a gem waiting to be claimed.
Key Stats
2013-14: GP: 71 | MPG: 18.1 | PTS: 6.9 | REB: 3.7 | AST: 1.2 | STLS: 0.6 | 3FG%: 34.7
Season Highlights
- On 1 November, he and Dallas' Gal Mekel – Casspi's teammate on Israeli National Youth basketball teams for years – became the first Israel-born players to meet in an NBA game
- If Sacramento picks Casspi up, they had a great chance last season to see what he's still capable of: the former King went for 20 points and 12 boards in 33 against Sacramento on 22 Jan
5 Things To Know
- Casspi made his professional debut for European power Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2005-06, at the age of 17
- He originally declared for the 2008 Draft, but withdrew his name before the deadline after not receiving a first-round guarantee. To ensure he'd go in the first round in '09, he shot 45 percent from 3-point range and set career-highs almost across the board for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Euroleague play in 2008-09
- That same year, he finished fourth in voting for the FIBA European Young Men's Player of the Year. The three people ahead of him? Ricky Rubio, Danilo Gallinari and Kostas Koufos.
- He plays tennis in his spare time
- Casspi played in the Rookie Challenge (now the Rising Stars Challenge) during NBA All-Star 2010, along with the short-lived H-O-R-S-E competition. He lost to Kevin Durant, who won the event in 2009 and 2010. Durant also beat-out Rajon Rondo the year Casspi participated
Check out Casspi's photos and video in the LEAGUE section of NBA Game Time.
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