Omri Casspi Reportedly Agrees to 2-Year Deal with Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets and free-agent small forward Omri Casspi have reached an agreement on a two-year contract.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports broke the news on Saturday:

In a subsequent report, Wojnarowski indicated the deal was worth $2 million and included a team option for 2014-15, citing a league source with knowledge of the situation.

This is a far cry from the Rockets landing superstar center Dwight Howard—which the big man tweeted on Thursday once he'd made his decision—but it is another savvy move by general manager Daryl Morey.

Casspi was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. As a rookie, he became the first Israeli to ever play in the Association, and he notched 15 points in his debut.

After playing for the Kings for two seasons, he most recently had a two-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old saw a decline in production with the Cavs in scoring, shooting percentage, rebounding and minutes played.

Things could be different for Casspi with this change of scenery, though.

The Rockets are the first truly promising franchise to give Casspi a shot at succeeding in the NBA. With the aforementioned addition of Howard, Houston has to be considered a legitimate title contender in the foreseeable future.

The current squad coached by Kevin McHale is already relatively stacked, and at Casspi's position is a rising star in Chandler Parsons. While Casspi will certainly be coming off the bench, he is a solid, low-risk bargain in the open market.

McHale coaches an up-tempo offense, and Casspi is at his best when being aggressive and playing a looser style. He should be an asset in the open court, and his length on the perimeter should help Houston defensively.

In 256 career games spanning four seasons, Casspi has made 94 starts and averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and one assist per contest.