Sam Cassell only played in 38 games as a member of the Celtics, with more than half of those contests coming in the postseason.
He knows what it takes to win in Boston, however.
Those games would wind up being the last of his 15-year NBA career, in which he capped things off with a win in the 2008
NBA Finals. That feeling of lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy is something Cassell is looking to experience for the fourth time
overall, but the first time as a coach.
How can Cassell get back to the mountaintop now that he’s back with the Celtics? He’s got a plan.
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“My voice will be, ‘Hey guys, this is a golden opportunity for us.’ It ain’t easy,” Cassell said, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.
“I know how it feels to win a championship in Boston. It will make any player, everybody in that organization who was a part
of winning a championship — it’s life-changing.”
The 53-year-old has spent the majority of his post-playing career building up his coaching resume, spending five seasons
with the Washington Wizards, six seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers and three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. In
coming back to the Celtics, the goal is simple for Cassell.
“It’s okay to scream and yell, but we have to have the same common goal — and that common goal is to bring Banner 18,”
Cassell said, per Terada. “That’s the only goal. It isn’t getting to the conference finals as a member of the coaching staff and
players. I’m talking about winning the championship. That’s the tradition in Boston: Winning the championship.
READ MORE:
Could Celtics still expand Grant Williams trade to Mavericks?
Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams (12), Dallas Mavericks forwards Dorian Finney-Smith (10) and Maxi
Kleber (42) fight for position under the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Dec.
18, 2019, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)AP.
LAS VEGAS — The Celtics are in a bit of a holding pattern at NBA Summer League as business around the association slows
down after an initial free-agent frenzy. There are ongoing talks with Jaylen Brown on an extension but Boston also has some
other items of business waiting to complete. One noteworthy item among them is the three-team Grant Williams sign-and-
trade agreed upon last week.
The former Celtic was in Las Vegas on Monday watching some of his new teammates in action at the Cox Pavilion. However,
the trade has still not been submitted yet to the league despite being agreed to nearly a week ago. That type of delay could
mean nothing but it also opens the door for the trade to expand for any of the teams involved (Dallas, San Antonio, Boston).
as well as a trade exception worth around $6.3 million depending on how Grant Williams’ new contract is structured.
The value of that TPE would be somewhat limited for Boston during this year if held as is. There are simply not a lot of guys
that would be available to Boston on the trade market in that salary range and also be of use to the team.
Where the Celtics could gain a little more flexibility moving forward is by trying to acquire a player in the deal now for
Williams by involving another team. Boston has the ability to add a player in the deal already under contract (probably at the
minimum) and that would allow the team to bring back a slightly bigger salary in a deal than the $6.3 million TPE. There’s
also the possibility of involving Malcolm Brogdon in the deal with another team if the team needs additional money involved
for salary matching.
Whether that type of trade is out there remains to be seen but the Celtics still have the roster space to add while the waiting
game continues. Given the draft trade capital they’ve amassed in the past few weeks and the fact several teams around the
league have more players than they can keep on their 15-man rosters, the door remains open out for a bigger deal if the
Celtics want to pursue it. The wait for that answer may just take a little longer while the James Harden and Damian Lillard
situation remains unresolved.
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