Israeli basketball star Casspi nears $6m deal with Kings

Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to play basketball in the NBA, said Monday he has agreed a new two-year, $6 million contract with the Sacramento Kings, staying with the team he played for in the 2014-15 season.

Casspi became the first Israeli to play in the NBA in 2009, when he was drafted up by the Kings in a first-round pick. Oded Kattash, head coach of the Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball coach, agreed to play with the New York Knicks in 1998, but a lockout prevented him from actually playing professional basketball in the United States.

Casspi, who was born in Holon, near Tel Aviv, was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011. He later played for the Houston Rockets, and was traded to and then waived by theNew Orleans Pelicans, before returning to the Sacramento Kings in 2014 as a free agent.

Casspi signed a one-year, $1 million contract for the 2014 season, in a bid to forgo expensive taxes for the team.

News broke late Sunday night in the US that Casspi and the Sacramento Kings were closing in on a deal.

ESPN sources say Omri Casspi and Kings are nearing agreement on a two-year, $6 million deal to keep the popular swingman in Sacramento

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 6, 2015

In April, Casspi indicated that he wished to remain in Sacramento. “I love it here. I want to come back. My agent knows that, I know that, I love it here,” Casspi told ESPN at the time.

The Israeli basketballer apparently confirmed his deal early Monday morning, writing in a tweet, “I’m all in,” with a picture of a crown, the symbol of the Sacramento Kings.

I'm all in ????. #SacramentoProud

— Omri Casspi עומרי משה כספי (@Casspi18) July 6, 2015

In April 2015, the 27-year-old, six-foot-nine-inch-tall Casspi scored a career-high 31 points in a single game, leading the Kings to victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.