It appears as though Omri Casspi’s tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans will last all of one game.
A day after hurting himself in his Pelicans debut, Caspi was reportedly waived by the team to make room for Reggie Williams.
New Orleans is waiving forward Omri Casspi, signing guard Reggie Williams, league sources tell @TheVertical. Casspi out with broken thumb.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 25, 2017
Casspi came to New Orleans from the Sacramento Kings in the DeMarcus Cousins trade following the All-Star Game. He was averaging just under six points a game in Sacramento and had 12 in his Pelicans debut before getting hurt.
In one respect, it seems harsh to waive a player who barely had time to unpack his suitcase in his new city. But from a pure basketball standpoint, New Orleans made the only logical move.
Casspi is a free agent at season’s end. As such, he has no value to the team beyond this season. Additionally, even with Casspi, the Pelicans had significant depth issues. They can’t afford to waste a roster spot on someone who can’t play.
Moves like this certainly spotlight how tough the business side of the NBA is. Still, New Orleans did what had to be done.