Sacramento Kings: The Case for Omri Casspi

Now that those concerned have had a chance to exhale for a moment regarding a possible DeMarcus Cousins trade, fans and the organization will need to begin weighing who beside the All-Star center to keep and who to shop during the offseason.

More from Sacramento Kings

While George Karl has already said that he had yet to find an “untradeable” player in his career, it’s likely he had by then developed opinions about just who would be of benefit to him and the team for the next few years.

Though this season forced him into looking more deeply at the team’s bench and a bevy of young talent, Karl has sounded eager to get to work with a healthy core of Cousins, Darren Collison, and Rudy Gay.

Everyone else on the roster is in a slightly more nebulous place. One key piece of the puzzle, perhaps unforeseen, lies in Israeli-born forward Omri Casspi.

Though he has never been regarded as a blockbuster import, Casspi has been maturing nicely since his return to Sacramento from Houston last year. His game has crested in a few key ways since he first became paired with George Karl in February.

Mar 11, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi (18) hugs head coach George Karl after defeating the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Kings defeated the Hornets 113-106. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

Having come in as a second-unit workhorse, Casspi was pushed into the spotlight toward the end of the regular season as new head coach George Karl continued to expose him to greater and greater shares of in-game minutes.

That trial for the five-year veteran proved to be a rewarding one, with Casspi shooting better than 47 percent–and better than 42 percent from 3-point range–and increasing his points per game to nearly 20.

Though the latter-most portion of the season gave the Kings some easier wins (like Casspi’s career-high 31 point run against the Timberwolves on April 7), Karl’s willingness to test out this underutilized talent has shown that there is much to be gained from further developing Casspi.

The Kings need mid- and lower-level contracts if they are trying to attract talent, and Casspi’s minimum salary of $1,063,384 this year would allow the team to grant him something a bit more substantial without encroaching on too much cap space.

Were the Kings to, say, let Derrick Williams move along with his career elsewhere this summer, there would be further breathing room in terms of salary and on-court role.

That role has a chance to be fully defined in the offseason, and that of a “versatile 4″ position player may be it.

Casspi (6’9”) has an inch on Derrick Williams, and tops him in the following (per 36 minutes): field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free throws made, offensive and defensive rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, all per basketball-reference.com.

Considering Williams was put out for teams to sniff around before Karl’s arrival, and given his lingering air of inconsistency, Casspi may indeed have a chance to fill an immediate need.

It’s important to keep in mind that the aforementioned were collected all-season statistics, not culled only from Casspi’s Karl-tenure blossoming. With some work on his turnover avoidance, Casspi could become a very useful forward, whether used in a stretch capacity or a more tradition post-play setup.

His quickness and agility are also promising, as he showed on that April night in Sacramento against Minnesota.

Beyond all the quantitative reasons to keep Omri Casspi in Sacramento, one of the factors which one might overlook is a genuine desire to re-establish himself and his team within George Karl’s system. If Karl can see in Casspi a reliable, hard-working player who understands his uneven career experience calls for serious development, he may be back next season.

In the end, how he performs with the expectations for him redefined will dictate his future in Sacramento – or elsewhere.

Next: 50 Greatest NBA Players Of The 1980s

More from Hoops Habit

Home/Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings: The Case For Omri Casspi

By John von Volkli | May 6, 2015

More from Hoops Habit