Sam On The Mind

by Jeff Clark on Feb 26, 2008 9:55 PM EST in Boston Celtics News & Links

There's no official word on Sam Cassell yet, but despite Henry Abbott's warnings, this thing has a feeling of enevitability.

So here's a primer on what we should be expecting. ClipperBlog remembers him fondly.

Sam Cassell might be one of the few guys in the NBA who wakes up every morning and says, "I get to go play ball today and, $%^&, they’re actually gonna pay me millions to do it!" If Sam didn’t play professional ball, you just know he’d be the self-appointed mayor of the pickup game down at the Y. After the gym closes, he’d be the guy who spends the next hour in the parking lot breaking down exactly what happened on the court. It’s that great cliché of sport: Sam Cassell would do it for free. Though it was a fleeting moment in the larger history of this franchise, the Clippers were beneficiaries of Sam's infatuation with the game. That's worth something.

Also, J.A. Adande believes Sam might bring a fresh breath of air to the team.

Cassell went to the All-Star Game in 2004, his first season with the Timberwolves, when he and Latrell Sprewell arrived in Minnesota and elicited an MVP season from Garnett. Cassell has been known to have that kind of impact. His rookie year in Houston 14 years ago, the Rockets won the NBA championship and Hakeem Olajuwon won the Most Valuable Player award. When Cassell came to the Clippers in 2005, the team came within a game of the conference finals and Elton Brand had a career year. But Cassell is a little bit like Shaq in that he's at his best when he's fresh on the scene with something to prove.

I know that Sam has his downfalls. He doesn't play defense, he's a shoot first point guard, and his ego and mouth are bound to get him into trouble sooner or later. But I'm still a fan of his and I do think that he'd be a nice addition to this team.

The key will be for Doc to use him in the right way. If he can handle being Rondo's backup, he'd be a nice addition to the second unit. I don't see him taking too many minutes away from anyone. I see him allowing Doc to use House and Tony Allen at their more natural shooting guard positions. And if that means giving Ray Allen more rest, even better.

If it works out, I think he'd give this team a nice boost for the second half and into the playoffs.

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Comments

am keeping my fingers crossed on this…

if ever we do get him….am hoping that his ego doesn’t affect our team’s “UBUNTU” chemistry

by celtpinoy on Feb 27, 2008 12:38 AM EST reply actions

Word out of LA is that Clippers owner Donald Sterling isn’t sold on the idea of a buyout, and that it may fall through. Let’s hope that that’s just posturing.

by Roy_Hobbs on Feb 27, 2008 6:03 AM EST reply actions

We need to do anything possible to get this guy. We are going to be sorry if we don’t.

He will add alot of what this team sorely needs, and if he doesn’t, bench him.

Imagine a bench lineup of…

Cassell
House
T Allen
Posey
Powe

by rickyfan3.0... on Feb 27, 2008 7:11 AM EST reply actions

I’m completely indifferent to Cassell. He’s not the missing piece. Brent Barry would be better.

by Brickowski on Feb 27, 2008 7:43 AM EST reply actions

Nah, Cassell is the right one. The guy knows how to play in big games.

by Bankshot on Feb 27, 2008 7:46 AM EST reply actions

Brent Barry knows how to play in big games too. Barry won a ring last year, not 14 years ago. Barry is taller, a better defender, and a better shooter.

by Brickowski on Feb 27, 2008 8:08 AM EST reply actions

Brick is right, Sam is not the missing piece?

The missing piece would’ve been Shaq.

But to if’n Sam is available, he needs to be nabbed.

There’s not much more to it…if you ask me.

It’s funny, though.

The conglomerate is split here…seems 50/50.

He’d take minutes away from Rondo, House, Allen & Allen.

I truly think adding Sam to the mix would really bolster the chances at 17.

This window is one of those small, vent-type windows that just flip out.

It’s not a big bay window of opportunity here.

Carpe diem!

Carpe Sam.

by mcpu40 on Feb 27, 2008 8:13 AM EST reply actions

Jeff says
“The key will be for Doc to use him in the right way. If he can handle being Rondo’s backup, he’d be a nice addition to the second unit. I don’t see him taking too many minutes away from anyone. I see him allowing Doc to use House and Tony Allen at their more natural shooting guard positions. And if that means giving Ray Allen more rest, even better.”

Of course you see the best in just about everything and everybody ;)

It’s my job to balance you out

by Master Po on Feb 27, 2008 9:09 AM EST reply actions

Is it me or has Posey’s production dropped off also? In reality if we’d had the opportunity to get Sam in the offseason we would not have gone after House. But House is a guy who can come out of a freezer and start draining threes – and you need 9,10,11 men in the playoffs who can be used situationally.

I do agree that the question about how much gas is in Sam’s tank is wide open.

by Brendan on Feb 27, 2008 9:16 AM EST reply actions

It makes little sense to bring in a guy who plays zero defense on a team that lives and dies with its defense. That’s why Tony Allen should be the one who gives Ray Allen some additional rest, not Cassell.

Don’t confuse the player that Cassell used to be with the player he is now. In fact, that’s a good rule to apply to most, if not all, of the veterans who ae hitting the waiver wire now.

by Brickowski on Feb 27, 2008 9:17 AM EST reply actions