Omri Casspi's busy summer has been an ample warmup for what's to come, after signing a one-year, $2.1 million deal with the Golden State Warriors this season, giving them an excellent weapon off the bench to complement their already monstrous depth.
Coming off an offseason where he hosted the 16th annual Basketball Without Borders in his native Israel and playing for his national team in this year's EuroBasket, the 6-foot-9 forward is slated to lace them up again, this time for his new team.
Drafted 23rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, Casspi has had two separate stints with the Sacramento Kings, the latest one from 2014-17, where he ultimately became a part of the DeMarcus Cousins trade, sending him to the New Orleans Pelicans. He played two games for the franchise before breaking his right thumb in a loss to the Houston Rockets, being subsequently waived by the team after a diagnosis ruled him out for four-to-six weeks.
Following his recovery, he played only 13 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves, totaling only 36 combined games during a whirlwind of a season. Those 36 games might have been the lone reason teams were hesitant to pull the trigger right away, giving Golden State the chance to make an offer just four days into free agency.
Going back only a season ago to 2015-16, Casspi was having a career-year with the Kings, averaging 11.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
The Israeli sniper had a career-high night on Dec. 28, 2015, totaling a game-high 36 points and burying a franchise-record nine three-pointers against the Warriors at Oracle Arena — tying Mike Bibby's long-standing mark. That night, Casspi traded trey after trey against Stephen Curry, who had struggled in a 0-for-6 start to the game, before engaging in a long-range war with his now-teammate.
“There's times when you get hot during the year, when you get hot in a game, but it doesn't really happen often when the best shooter in the world is coming right back at you,” Casspi recalled. “That was really one of my best games. Now having the opportunity to play in Oracle, to play in front of those fans — it's a blessing I'm looking forward to.”
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Among the many weapons in his game, Casspi's main attraction to this team is his versatility, a 6-foot-9 player that can be deployed at the small and power forward positions, according to what the team needs at any given moment.
The 29-year-old has proven to be a glove's fit for Golden State due to his natural ability to be at the right spot at the right time, contest shots, be there as a team defender and provide for offensively as a nifty cutter, setting screens, and taking the best shot available.
“I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do,” he said. “I’m open to playing both positions. So much of the offense is not holding the ball and running and shooting threes… getting good shots, not bad shots. I feel like that’s something to really complement my game.”
“It's a dream come true playing in that system. The way the team is structured, the egoless players that they have here, that the guys here are willing to share the ball, play off each other and play the game the right way. When your main guys are playing that way, it's really addicting.”
Casspi; an eight-year NBA veteran who has played for five different teams with a unique skill set at his position, could have been the target of many other franchises around the league. Teams that are now struggling to find that two-way player that can stretch the floor and play multiple positions.
The Israeli star ultimately chose to play for a title contender, rather than seek a bigger contract elsewhere — a sacrifice like the many on this team have had to make to not only keep the core together, but make it into a beast of its own.
“I felt like coming into the top organization in the league with coach Steve Kerr and the guys they have here and putting myself in a position to win championships and to learn so much that I can learn here and get better — it means more than money at this point in my career,” he said. “I'm not looking back, I'm really happy where I'm at and I feel I made the right decision. I'm really excited to join this family, to play in front of the best fans in the league.”
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