More news on the Omri Casspi front broke yesterday afternoon.
Officially, from the Cavaliers, it was announced that the seldom-used forward from Israel would be checked into a hospital from Orlando and miss Saturday night’s game against the Magic.
Here was the release from the team: “Cavaliers forward Omri Casspi was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center this afternoon for evaluation of acute abdominal pain. He was accompanied by Cavaliers Head Athletic Trainer Max Benton. Both Casspi and Benton remain at the medical center. Casspi is listed as OUT for tonight’s game in Orlando and his status will be updated as appropriate.”
Then, unofficially, Israeli outlet Walla Sport (which has interviewed several times Casspi previously) reported that Casspi would like a buyout from the team. This isn’t shocking news considering his reported trade request from last month, but there were more details in this news bit.
According to the entirely Hebrew article (aka don’t click the link unless you know Hebrew), Casspi would like a buyout from Cleveland within 2-3 days. He then would hope to sign with a playoff team, namely Houston or Memphis. However, he would only like the buyout once a deal is in place with the next team.
Oddly enough: These murmurs come just days before Jewish Community Night at the Q, which is scheduled for Wednesday. We’ll see if Casspi is granted his reported request before the planned night of events, which included a meet-and-greet with the 24-year-old player.
Update at 11:30 a.m. Sunday: Casspi was diagnosed with acute appendicitis last night in Orlando. His appendix was later removed by Dr. Michael L. Cheatham. He stayed the night at the Orlando hospital and will be reevaluated today.
Update at 2:30 p.m. Sunday: Casspi just posted to his Facebook page with nearly 82,000 likes the following status (translated from Hebrew via Google): “Dear Friends, thank you for your concern, I am recovering and feeling much better today.” I’m sure we’ll have more news from him by tomorrow.
[Related: Chris Grant and the Cavaliers sit this trade deadline out]
