Omri Casspi: Sacramento’s Crowning Summer Signing

Though the Sacramento Kings have been unapologetically aggressive this offseason, chasing after–and sometimes catching–players of both big and small regard, its most important free agent acquisition may be one of its least-notable ones. As the team threatens to be torn apart by petty pasts and conflicting egos, veteran swingman Omri Casspi’s presence is a welcomed, and quite possibly necessary, one.

As a fringe-NBA player on the veteran’s minimum, Casspi provided bench scoring, energy and excitement for a team that, through prolonged stretches of last season, was lacking all three. Luckily for the Kings and its fans, that didn’t keep him from wanting back.

From the Sacramento Bee’s Ailene Voisin, in March:

"“I want to come back here so badly,” Casspi, a first-round draft pick by the Kings in 2009, said. “I love the community and I feel like the team is finally moving in the right direction. George Karl’s system is great, and I’m not just saying that because I play for him, but because I really do believe this is the right way to play basketball. Spacing the floor. Moving, making extra passes, sharing the ball. Getting our hands on balls, deflections, then getting out and running.”"

And the Kings wanted Casspi, too, for those same reasons.

In terms of measuring value, Casspi presents a fun, complicated challenge.

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Statistically, last season’s .489 field goal percentage and .402 three-point percentage jump off the page. His 8.9 PPG and 14.45 Player Efficiency Rating are more pedestrian, but solid for a bench player. His .580 True Shooting Percentage ties him for 41st league-wide, with Tristan Thompson, Isaiah Thomas and Paul Pierce. As a dynamic wing athlete, Casspi’s numbers reasonably satisfy the analytical “requirement,” so to speak, of player evaluation.

But Casspi’s true impact extends further than his box score’s limited reflection, and thus is the challenge in quantifying it. Separate from his stats, Omri Casspi is a walking set of intangibles—and intangibles, by definition, are tough to measure.

What Casspi lacks in God-given basketball ability (which isn’t much) he more than makes up for with passion, anticipation, toughness, mental fortitude, a team-first mentality, constant effort and an unrelenting energy.

Whether he’s sprinting ahead in transition, crashing the defensive and offensive glass, diving for loose basketballs, finishing through shot-blockers, pissing off Paul Pierce or besting his opponents by way of pure hustle and heart, Omri Casspi plays basketball the right way. He maximizes his potential.

It’s these intangibles, coupled with his knack for the finer points of the game, that not only separate Casspi from his peers, but elevate him above them.

Take Derrick Williams, for example—who recently received a two-year, $10 million contract from New York. Both Casspi and Williams play the same position, both played in Sacramento most recently and, by chance, both are good friends.

To some, Williams is the more attractive player. In his shining moments with Sacramento, he played with an explosive, captivating excitement unmatched by any Kings player in recent memory. His highlight reel, alone, is that of an All-Star. For the Knicks, that was enough.

But it’s D-Will’s intangibles – or stark lack thereof – that kill his consistency and overall potential: Rotating late defensively, getting out-competed for rebounds, missing quick passing opportunities. For Derrick Williams, there is a sizable gap between what he’s capable of potentially, and what he does in reality.

That gap doesn’t exist for Omri Casspi—and that’s what makes him so endearing.

Judging by his background, by his personality and by his play, you know he doesn’t take his time in Sacramento for granted. Not for one second.

As a simple “role player,” Casspi represents everything that the Kings, as an organization, should strive to find and instill in its players. The guy just wants to play basketball, and he wants to do it in Sacramento.