Omri Casspi waived by Pelicans: another option for Boston to sign?

After last night's game against the Toronto Raptors, one thing is clear - Boston's postseason aspirations are looking tougher to achieve.


It's much to small of a sample size to hit the panic button, but the Raps' having upped the ante on both ends of the court through adding Serge Ibaka and PJ Tucker suggests it's not just rebounding this team could use help with, but scoring, too. Earlier this week, Mark Alison broke down the most likely post-trade deadline additions - namely, Terrence Jones, Andrew Bogut, Jared Sullinger, and Larry Sanders. We can now add Omri Casspi to that list, with the New Orleans Pelicans poised to waive Casspi after a broken thumb seems likely to remove his availability for what is internally viewed as an essential playoff push.


Casspi, a 28-year old combo forward having something of a career year last season, saw his playing time diminish considerably after the Sacramento Kings packed the roster with big men this season. Casspi is a good defender with a great shot, hitting .369 from three over his career, including multiple seasons over .400 with significant attempts. He's a decent rebounder, too, logging just over four per game in his career. Like Jones, his per-36 minutes are comparable to Amir Johnson on a good night (about 14 points and 7 boards per game), something we're seeing less and less of, likely due to Amir's advancing age.

Of course, there's the injury which got Omri waived in the first place to consider, meaning it would be well into April by the time he'd likely be healed. However, hand injuries do not impede conditioning exercises, so Casspi would likely be game-ready for the playoffs, and a good fit for Coach Brad Stevens style of play. There's also the question of who would be waived, as the Celtics are currently at the league-limit of 15 players.

James Young would have been the easy answer for most of his pro career, but he's actually become something of a decent NBA player in recent weeks on both ends of the court - possibly to the extent that Danny Ainge may be regretting not guaranteeing additional time on his deal. At present, Jordan Mickey has been playing about as well, and since he has multiple years left on his deal, may be marginally safer. Demetrius Jackson has seen much less floor time apart from with the Maine Red Claws (and may be joining Guerschon Yabusele with them), but may actually have the most potential of the three more likely candidates to be cut. Given that Jared Sullinger's health concerns and play have not kept him with three separate organizations in under a year, I think it's extremely unlikely anyone who is still on the roster now would be in any danger of getting cut for a Sully reunion.


Who do you think would be the better option for Boston to sign, if they made a move to bolster the roster? Am I wrong about Sully? Who is most likely to get cut if Boston does sign one of these candidates? Take the Twitter poll, and let us know your thoughts in the mentions or comments section below.



For more stories about Omri Casspi on CelticsLife, click here. For more by Justin, click here.



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