Israeli NBA player becomes free agent

Cleveland Cavaliers release Omri Casspi; Houston, San Antonio said to be interested in NBA’s sole Israeli baller

Adiv Sterman is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.

Omri Casspi (photo credit: Howard Blas/Times of Israel)
Omri Casspi (photo credit: Howard Blas/Times of Israel)

Israel’s first basketballer to play in the big leagues, Omri Casspi, will be up for grabs as of Monday after his current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, opted not to renew his contract.

Casspi, a 6-foot, 9-inch forward originally from Yavneh, will effectively become a free agent on the NBA market and may therefore choose to accept any offer presented to him by a team.

According to Israel’s Channel 5, the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs have marked Casspi as a possible future candidate. Media reports said that Casspi’s agents requested a trade from the Cavs a while ago, although in a recent interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Casspi denied making such a request.

The Israeli basketball star started off strong at the Cavaliers but ended his two-year endeavor in relative stagnation. In the past season, Casspi played for an average of only 11.7 minutes per game and participated in 43 games, slightly more than half the games played in the 2012-2013 season.

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