They could, but more likely they don't keep Williams past the 10 day if they need a roster space for Casspi.
Completely agree, and there's probably a workable deal for that 2nd non-guaranteed deal....just make the guarantee date a few days after the July moratorium. That way if the Rockets choose to waive him, he can still go out and get a good contract. So if the Rockets keep him, its $6 million for a few months this season and all of next season, and if they waive him, it's $3 million for a few months and a new contract with a different team. Everyone wins. As a player, perfect fit. Provides insurance for Anderson and I'd offer him all of the backup PF minutes. Dekker and Casspi's stats are almost exactly the same except for one key area...3 point shooting. Casspi is hitting 39%...Dekker is hitting 32%. Dekker is better finishing at the rim at 66%, but Casspi is no sloutch at 60%. Either way, it would be nice to have options.
Well yeah theoretically but that's a harden signing and his boy so likely not going to. Brown is a favor to harden for this year.
I like Casspi's hops and ability to run the floor. He's Dekker 2.0 But, it seems he went 'Lou Williams' on us when we had him. Had that razzle-dazzle debut game and then fizzled. But, then again. He was on that K McHale 'wild west' offense with no real scheme. Can't do much when you are standing around watching James dribble and dance for 20 secs. I'd say. . . . . .
Yep. Part of what's gumming up that 2nd unit might be the Dekker / Nene-Capela front court. With two guys that aren't reliable shooters, you've got an extra defender sagging into the lane. That means Lou/Gordon can't penetrate, and our other shooters are likely being fronted. Now insert Casppi into Dekker's minutes. The bench offense will essentially have the same spacing as the starting unit. You're relying on Casspi to do Anderson's job, Beverley to do his own job, Nene/Capela PnR and the combination of Lou/Gordon to create something that resembles Harden's production. Casspi is kind of an average of Dekker and Anderson. He's a better finisher around the rim than Anderson, but not quite as good as Dekker. A better shooter than Dekker, but not as good as Anderson. He runs the floor better than Anderson, but not at the level of Dekker. Better slasher than Anderson, but again, not as good as Dekker. Probably an equal rebounder to both. Adding Casspi gives us better spacing and more options, much like the Lou Williams deal.
That's a really good point and something I haven't thought of or noticed but makes a lot of sense. Maybe after acquiring Lou coaches realized they need to guard against drives much better and realize dekker is not producing from far and is more likely to drive then shoot off the pass and tjat his shot hasn't been falling. Great observation
Thanks, and I agree. Dekker might be getting some form of the Tony Allen treatment. Casspi keeps the gears of the offense greased, reopening the driving lanes for Lou/Gordon that Harden enjoys with Anderson on the floor. MDA is really good at putting players in positions to excel. I think he will know exactly what to do with Casspi. Here are our best 3 man lineups by overall +/- ranking in the NBA (across all teams): #16 - Harden/Ariza/Anderson #40 - Beverley/Ariza/Anderson #45 - Beverley/Harden/Ariza #47 - Harden/Anderson/Capela #50 - Gordon/Harden/Anderson All of our best lineups involve our starters. When you expand it to best 5 player lineups (min. 20 games), Beverley/Harden/Ariza/Anderson/Capela is the #4 lineup in the league in plus/minus. We aren't going to beat the Warriors with our starting lineup. It's got to be our depth and system. We've got to be able to overwhelm Livingston, Iguodala, West and McGee. I think Lou, Gordon, Casspi and Nene can win that battle....then we just have to hope the 3s are falling.
I have been advocating (through different channels) for this sort of arrangement, although I think you might have to guarantee that second season in order to get Casspi to commit for next year. If they could leverage their current cap space to get Casspi on a sweetheart deal for next season (one that would be easily tradable if the team needs cap space and that might even net them a second rounder in trade), I would be very pleased.
Would love it. Having Casspi for 3 million next year would be outstanding and would open up all kinds of flexibility in the offseason.
Jeez, why all the retreads? I like Omri, he was "fine" here, but why generally the nostalgia for ex-players? Yes, new system, but we know what these ex-players can do...
Why? Because in the 3 seasons since Omri was last with the Rockets, he is shooting 40.6% on 3s! That level of shooting from a guy who is 6-9 alone is enough to make him a commodity on the open market (when healthy). The fact that he is a decent defender (not great but not bad, either) and is athletic enough to get out and run only further helps his cause. As others have noted, he's basically a better-shooting (but slightly less athletic) version of Sam Dekker. There is a vocal contingent of NBA "experts" who feel the Kings were grossly negligent in how little they used Casspi given his production with them. Likewise, the Pelicans have been criticized by many for waiving Casspi rather than just keeping his Bird rights, and other teams (I guess including the Rockets) were criticized for not claiming Casspi off waivers, which would have entitled them to Casspi's Early Bird rights.
Ahh, thanks for the insight. I notice a general fondness for ex-players that strikes me of unwarranted nostalgia, but perhaps Omri is an exception. I thought he was an average defender at best (no stats, just eye test). The shooting % is nice, but is it a case of diminishing returns? I'm on board with signing a rebounder/defender type, versus more scoring/shooting.
Would he be eligible for the playoffs if we picked him up now? Wasn't there a March 1st deadline or was that just for players that were bought out?
So, here's how the Rockets could structure a deal for Casspi using their cap room in order to potentially lock him up for next season: They can sign Casspi for 2 years, $6.9 million, payable as follows: 2016-17: $3.37 million 2017-18: $3.53 million The prorated veteran's minimum applicable to Casspi for the remainder of this season (assuming he signs around 10 days from now) is somewhere around $178,000. If this is the baseline against which he is weighing offers, then the Rockets' two-year offer above would pay Casspi the same total salary as if he signed for that prorated veteran's minimum then re-signed to a one-year $6.72 million deal this summer as a free agent. To the extent that Casspi could conceivably make more than $6.72 million on the open market this summer (and there are some that think he might even garner most/all of the MLE from some teams), there is additional incentive to take the Rockets' deal: the payment schedule. The Rockets could structure the payment schedule to essentially pay Casspi his entire $3.37 million salary for 2016-17 within a matter of 3-4 weeks after he signs. Compare that to a free agent deal this summer. Would he get a material signing bonus from some team? Maybe, maybe not. But the Rockets could definitely front-load a deal that he could get RIGHT NOW. I'm not saying the Rockets *will* make Casspi such an offer -- or even that the Rockets are necessarily that interested in Casspi -- but this would be a creative way to leverage that cap space into attracting a free agent that could help this team both now and next season . . . when he'll have a bargain-basement cap figure, easily moveable if the team needs to create cap space later.
They just have to be waived or bought out prior to that deadline. They can sign at any point after that up until the playoffs start.