Casspi confident ahead of NBA draft

Maccabi TA forward seeks first round draft pick on June 26 to be first Israeli to play in the NBA.

By ALLON SINAI
omri caspi 88 (photo credit: )
omri caspi 88
(photo credit: )
Omri Casspi believes he has a good chance of being selected in the first round of this year's NBA draft. The Maccabi Tel Aviv forward will be working out for numerous NBA teams this month, looking to be picked in the first round of the draft on June 26 and becoming the first Israeli to play in the NBA. "From what I'm hearing, there's a good chance that happens," Casspi wrote of his chances of being selected in the first round in a blog on hoopshype.com. "There's a couple of teams [can't say names] that have expressed a lot of interest. Time will tell, as usual." Casspi worked out for the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, the sixth team in his tour of North America. The 19-year-old left Israel at the start of last week and has already been scrutinized by coaches from the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers. "My routine this month is working out for teams in consecutive days, then getting a day off," Casspi wrote. "It's a pretty hectic schedule, but you still get to have some fun going from one city to the other. "These workouts are tough. It's all very intense. You have to shoot a lot and they make you play 1-on-1, 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 all the time." Of Maccabi Casspi wrote: "Very often with European players, clubs make it hard for them to leave for the NBA. "That's not the case with me and Maccabi. They have been really supportive throughout. On one hand, they don't want to lose me. "On the other, they have wished the best of luck to me and I feel they honestly want me to have success here. Going back to Maccabi is a good backup plan, but I'd rather be in the NBA next season."