Coming off their second championship title in the past three seasons, the Golden State Warriors didn’t have much they needed to upgrade this past offseason. Their main priority was bringing back Andre Iguodala which they did on a three-year deal. Along with retaining Iggy, the Warriors also made another underrated move and added versatile combo forward Omri Casspi on a $2.1 million veteran minimum salary.
Though Casspi isn’t a huge part of Golden State’s rotation, he has relished providing valuable numbers in limited minutes so far this season. In fact, Casspi has enjoyed suiting up for the Warriors so much these first few weeks that he recently told SF Chronicle’s Henry Schulman that he already knows he’d re-sign the same deal if the opportunity presented itself again this summer:
[Casspi] also is happy enough with his situation to answer unhesitatingly when asked if he could see himself returning next season on another minimum contract if the team has a cap crunch.“Absolutely, not even a question. Coming in here and being with these guys, learning from Coach and the other guys here, and becoming a better basketball player has always been my ultimate goal. Money wasn’t the reason I started playing basketball, and it won’t be the reason I pick my team going forward.”
Still younger than 30, it’s rare to see a player the age of Omri Casspi and be willing to play a minimal role for a title contender. When at Casspi’s age of 29, many players see it as a final opportunity to prove their self-worth in the NBA, thus they opt to go somewhere they have a chance to thrive and play big minutes. Instead, Casspi is more focused on winning than personal numbers:
“Being on bad teams for so many years kind of hurt my value within the league, I felt at times underappreciated. I felt like at this point in my career I want to win. I want to be part of a group that, not that there are no egos, but the egos are directed toward the right goal. I felt that learning from Steve and the coaching staff here can put me back where I need to be.”
Though Omri Casspi is playing the most limited minutes of his entire career with the Warriors, it’s clear the crafty veteran has found his niche. Even with only logging 85 total minutes this season, the sharpshooting Israeli has converted 14 of his 22 field goal attempts and is yet to miss a shot from three-point distance.
