Sam Cassell coming back??

[Jon]

While I was disappointed in Cassell, he wasn't much worse than House in the playoffs.  One thing that teams didn't exploit nearly as much as they could have was House's inability to bring the ball up against full court pressure.  I wouldn't count on teams overlooking that a second time. 

I also wouldn't entirely overlook the possibility that Cassell will do better when he has a chance to get comfortable with the team in the preseason.  Furthermore, I wouldn't overlook the very real possibility that the reason he shot so much was because Doc told him to.  Remember, most of his minutes came in the second quarter of games when Doc threw out the Green Team and MAYBE one of the Big Three.  At times he was the best offensive option on the court. 

Would I prefer a backup point guard that could play defense, handle the ball, and knock down a three?  Yes, but there are few starting point guards in the league that can do all those things, let alone backups available at the minimum.  On top of that, I'd much rather see Cassell back at the minimum, then Danny electing to not sign Posey to the MLE and splitting the MLE between another PG and a C or SF. 

All in all, Cassell isn't my perfect backup, but I don't know how much more you can expect for the vet minimum. 

[Brickowski]

now every single signing is under a nanoscopic lense to be picked apart by the basketball know-it-alls of the interwebs.

Get real!

I didn't need a nanscopic lens to evaluate Cassell's play for the Celtics.  I just had to open up my barf bag and take a whiff.

[Roy Hobbs]

Typical reaction from the typical CelticsBlog forum dwellers.

Ainge almost set a bad precedent by acquiring Allen and Garnett...now every single signing is under a nanoscopic lense to be picked apart by the basketball know-it-alls of the interwebs.

Get real!

First, if you don't like the "typical reaction" from the "typical forum dwellers", you can do something about it.  I'm not sure why insults are necessary.

Second, why can't people be skeptical about signing a player who played poorly for the majority of his time here?

[xperimentvictim]

I'm just glad that he knows his role and is okay with being a backup.  I hate these vet guys who have long since seen their day and expect to still be starting.  I'd give him another year and after that he's done!  He came through for us.  He's our second wiley veteran.

[Bankshot]

I'm just glad that he knows his role and is okay with being a backup.  I hate these vet guys who have long since seen their day and expect to still be starting.  I'd give him another year and after that he's done!  He came through for us.  He's our second wiley veteran.

Are you talking about Cassell or House?  Because I thought House knew his role, but Cassell sometimes forgot he was supposed to be the point guard setting up teammates and was only concerned with setting up himself.

[jaketwice]

Typical reaction from the typical CelticsBlog forum dwellers.

Ainge almost set a bad precedent by acquiring Allen and Garnett...now every single signing is under a nanoscopic lense to be picked apart by the basketball know-it-alls of the interwebs.

Get real!

First, if you don't like the "typical reaction" from the "typical forum dwellers", you can do something about it.  I'm not sure why insults are necessary.

Second, why can't people be skeptical about signing a player who played poorly for the majority of his time here?

This response got a TP from me. Why do you need to come on here and be insulting? Maybe some guys think trading Ray Allen would be a good idea. Maybe some people would like Antoine Walker back in green. Tyus Edny assistant coach?

Bottom line: if you think it's a stupid idea, you don't have to even open the thread.

[EJPLAYA]

While I was disappointed in Cassell, he wasn't much worse than House in the playoffs.  One thing that teams didn't exploit nearly as much as they could have was House's inability to bring the ball up against full court pressure.  I wouldn't count on teams overlooking that a second time. 

I also wouldn't entirely overlook the possibility that Cassell will do better when he has a chance to get comfortable with the team in the preseason.  Furthermore, I wouldn't overlook the very real possibility that the reason he shot so much was because Doc told him to.  Remember, most of his minutes came in the second quarter of games when Doc threw out the Green Team and MAYBE one of the Big Three.  At times he was the best offensive option on the court. 

Would I prefer a backup point guard that could play defense, handle the ball, and knock down a three?  Yes, but there are few starting point guards in the league that can do all those things, let alone backups available at the minimum.  On top of that, I'd much rather see Cassell back at the minimum, then Danny electing to not sign Posey to the MLE and splitting the MLE between another PG and a C or SF. 

All in all, Cassell isn't my perfect backup, but I don't know how much more you can expect for the vet minimum. 

You obviously didn't watch the playoffs this year. Another mind numbing regurgitation of the infamous Detroit game fiasco. If you had you would have seen House spend 95% of the playoffs on the bench while Sam got the backup guard minutes. The couple of games there at the end that he did get in and played House was his usual energetic spark off the bench. Saying that Sam played the same as House did is absolutely not accurate. Everyone that actually watched the games, even Sam supporters, knows that.

[Change]

Whether its true of not, i believe this can workout. I personally dislike Cassell, but he probably won't even suit up. He'll be cheap salary wise, and be coach/player/mentor to the young guys. Cassell just needs to keep his big mouth shut and not be a distraction on/off court.

[EJPLAYA]

Whether its true of not, i believe this can workout. I personally dislike Cassell, but he probably won't even suit up. He'll be cheap salary wise, and be coach/player/mentor to the young guys. Cassell just needs to keep his big mouth shut and not be a distraction on/off court.

Exactly the description of someone I am looking for in a coach and mentor for my younger players...

[Jon]

While I was disappointed in Cassell, he wasn't much worse than House in the playoffs.  One thing that teams didn't exploit nearly as much as they could have was House's inability to bring the ball up against full court pressure.  I wouldn't count on teams overlooking that a second time. 

I also wouldn't entirely overlook the possibility that Cassell will do better when he has a chance to get comfortable with the team in the preseason.  Furthermore, I wouldn't overlook the very real possibility that the reason he shot so much was because Doc told him to.  Remember, most of his minutes came in the second quarter of games when Doc threw out the Green Team and MAYBE one of the Big Three.  At times he was the best offensive option on the court. 

Would I prefer a backup point guard that could play defense, handle the ball, and knock down a three?  Yes, but there are few starting point guards in the league that can do all those things, let alone backups available at the minimum.  On top of that, I'd much rather see Cassell back at the minimum, then Danny electing to not sign Posey to the MLE and splitting the MLE between another PG and a C or SF. 

All in all, Cassell isn't my perfect backup, but I don't know how much more you can expect for the vet minimum. 

You obviously didn't watch the playoffs this year. Another mind numbing regurgitation of the infamous Detroit game fiasco. If you had you would have seen House spend 95% of the playoffs on the bench while Sam got the backup guard minutes. The couple of games there at the end that he did get in and played House was his usual energetic spark off the bench. Saying that Sam played the same as House did is absolutely not accurate. Everyone that actually watched the games, even Sam supporters, knows that.

Where in that post did I say that Cassell played the same as House?  I said he played worse, but not much worse.  All I said was that some of Cassell's perceived faults might not have been as bad as some people might've thought.  Might he play more of a point guard role with a preseason to get more familiar?  Maybe.  Did Doc tell him to jack up shots in the Detroit series when he was on the court with a bunch of reserves who can't create their own offense or when he was paired with Allen who looked like he was dead?  Maybe. 

All I'm saying is that a) Eddie House is not a point guard.  When he tries to be one of two things happen: 1) he becomes a liability handling the ball or 2) Pierce or Allen handles the ball.  If option two is going to happen, why not just sign a 6-6 shooting guard to replace House if he can't do the things a PG should do.  b) we're probably not going to get a ton of options at the veteran minimum.  I'm not completely sold on Cassell.  He may very well continue his downward spiral.  However, if he does come back--which becomes more likely if Posey is signed and consumes the minimum--I think he might bounce back. 

As for House in the playoffs, you obviously didn't watch them if you thought he played great.  He looked OK towards the end of the L.A. series for two reasons.  1) he didn't handle the ball and 2) the Lakers had the softest defense we saw all year.  The fact that he was benched for so much of the playoffs is a testament to his inability to be a point guard. 

[Sweet17]

I would much rather have Tyrone Lue then Cassell. Cassell is done. As for the inane comment about "typical forum dwellers"? Huh? What are we supposed to do - NOT talk about transactions?

[RockinRyA]

im one of the  cassell proponents before, but after seeing him brick shot after shot after shot, frankly i was so disappointed

sign eddie and lets get rolling

[KJ33]

I'm just glad that he knows his role and is okay with being a backup.  I hate these vet guys who have long since seen their day and expect to still be starting.  I'd give him another year and after that he's done!  He came through for us.  He's our second wiley veteran.

Are you talking about Cassell or House?  Because I thought House knew his role, but Cassell sometimes forgot he was supposed to be the point guard setting up teammates and was only concerned with setting up himself.

Setting up what teammates?  Powe? BBD? Posey? PJ?  Like an earlier poster said, he rarely played with GPA, he often was the best scorer on the floor when he played, and I believe Doc did tell him to shoot more.  When he first got here he really struggled with the sets, so Doc just changed gears that late in the year and gave Sam more freedom to create for himself, and played him with units where that was needed.  This whole thing of him being selfish and not passing to teammates has gotten so overblown, didn't all the rotation experts here notice that Doc kept putting him in even when Sam was so called "chucking"? He must not have been as dissatisfied as the blogosphere, until he basically was not hitting anything at all, then he went to House.  These things have a way of snowballing and the quick, cookie-cutter analysis is that Sam "played poorly in his time here" which is subjective although presented as fact.  

As with all the pining last year for a "true" backup point, until we actually got one, then everyone wanted the unconventional shooting guard in a point guard's body again, this is being made into too big a deal.  The available pool just isn't there, and didn't the Celtics sort of prove you can win the whole thing without one?  Sam at the vet min is as good as anything available, Tyronn Lue hasn't played a good game since the '01 Finals against Iverson, to hear it on this board, he is the answer. I can only imagine the comments here if he came once people figured out all his shortcomings, they are far greater than Sam's.

[TripleOT]

There's a lot of vitriol for Cassell on this board.  I expected Sam to play a lot better, and quite frankly, he struggled for most of his tenure here.  He was a good teammate, however, and for anyone to suggest that he either wasn't or wouldn't be one this upcoming season is a stretch.  (I was at every home playoff game, a few yards from the Cs bench, and watched Sam being quite involved in everything, even when he wasn't getting any run). 

Sam's trigger happiness wasn't him going off the reservation.  Doc turned his role into someone who needed to get shots up, when Doc had him out there with Posey, Powe, and PJ. Pierce/RA couldn't take every shot. I' on the fence about having Sam back, and if a JWill can be had, I'd go with him. But I'm not going to go all negative about the guy, who was part of our championship team.   

[Reyquila]

I dont think anything said in here will steer Danny into signing or not signing Cassell for another season. Ill just wait and see what Danny does or doesn not do with Cassell and then just wait for the season to start. Ill give Danny the benefit of the doubt in that can make an informed decision better than I can; so, be it. or like Doris day used to sing: "Que será, será; whatever will be, will be; he future's not our to see; que será será." C'omon, gimme a TP for the effort