Cassell Says He Will Sign Contract With Celtics Next Week

[crownsy]

If this goes down, I will be dissapointed that we gave Eddie House a semi-lucrative deal worth 2 years.  If the plan was to bring back Sam, then we should have let Eddie walk and thrown all that $$ at Posey.

Eddie is a much much better fit as backup pg.  It would be a shame to see him lose his minutes again like last year in the playoffs. 

Keeping both of these guys is bad for our chemistry.

that $$$ has nothign to do with posey, we threw him the full amount we were allowed under league rules. The issue was length of contract, which this doesn't affect.

NO pony'd up an extra year than we were willing to, not more $ per.

good point, TP.

thanks, back at ya.

and agree with you on the house issue, not sure why you resign them both. Unless eddie is cool with what went on in the playoffs early, where he lost alot of his minutes to sam, going on for 82+ games, i don't get this.

[Triboy16]

cassell will prob go on the dl since day one. Story will he be tweaked something from getting up from bed.

Basically i don't see him suiting up at all unless all our pg resources are injured or not performing.

As long as he doesn't play i don't care if he becomes an assistance or a ball boy

[Greenback]

Whatever happened to the low risk/high reward thinking?   Sam’s skills have declined but he won’t be prone to rookie mistakes.  But I don’t think he will see that many minutes.  He is probably an insurance policy and mentor.

He is not as old as Reggie Miller.  KG likes him.  He’s a safer bet than Pruitt or Giddens as a 3rd string PG.

Sam scored 35 and 32 points in games last year.  Also, he scored over 20 pts in 12 games.  The same cannot be said for Rondo or Eddie.  Sam is an 86% career free throw shooter and knows how to draw fouls.  His mid range jumper is still pretty good. 

It’s not a bad thing having a little more scoring off the bench.  No one complains about Eddie being one dimensional.

His services will probably fit into the Celtics budget.  He can teach  Rondo.

Let’s see if he gets the contract.

[gar]

I hope he can get Pruitt ready. Rondo is good to go. Otherwise I think this is an odd move. Not only is House going to be p---ed; but Pruitt and TAllen also have to be wondering. I certainly hope we did not sign Tony to play SF. I never bought that line; but that is where he will be if Miles is cut.

Only other way to look at it is that they see walker and giddens contributing at SF and did not see the need to keep the spot open for Miles. This is what happens when you have two PG's running the show.

[crownsy]

Whatever happened to the low risk/high reward thinking?   Sam’s skills have declined but he won’t be prone to rookie mistakes.  But I don’t think he will see that many minutes.  He is probably an insurance policy and mentor.

He is not as old as Reggie Miller.  KG likes him.  He’s a safer bet than Pruitt or Giddens as a 3rd string PG.

Sam scored 35 and 32 points in games last year.  Also, he scored over 20 pts in 12 games.  The same cannot be said for Rondo or Eddie.  Sam is an 86% career free throw shooter and knows how to draw fouls.  His mid range jumper is still pretty good. 

It’s not a bad thing having a little more scoring off the bench.  No one complains about Eddie being one dimensional.

His services will probably fit into the Celtics budget.  He can teach  Rondo.

Let’s see if he gets the contract.

we dont complain about eddie being one dimensional because he hits his shots, unlike ET, and takes them in the flow of the offense rather than sitting there for 10 seconds backing a guy down to shoot over him. he also passes well, hustles his heart out, and plays better team defense than sam could ever hope to archive.

[zerophase]

uh as long as he's happy being on the bench 24/7 and not playing much.

[shookones99]

Maybe I'm the only one who read it this way but I thought when he said "This is my last year playing for the Celtics" he was refering to this past season.  When he said that he'll sign a contract next week I assumed he meant with Denver (because I always thought that was his plan was to end his career learning how to coach from Geroge Karl).  Then after that he would retire and become an assistant here.  I dont know.

[Greenback]

Whatever happened to the low risk/high reward thinking?   Sam’s skills have declined but he won’t be prone to rookie mistakes.  But I don’t think he will see that many minutes.  He is probably an insurance policy and mentor.

He is not as old as Reggie Miller.  KG likes him.  He’s a safer bet than Pruitt or Giddens as a 3rd string PG.

Sam scored 35 and 32 points in games last year.  Also, he scored over 20 pts in 12 games.  The same cannot be said for Rondo or Eddie.  Sam is an 86% career free throw shooter and knows how to draw fouls.  His mid range jumper is still pretty good. 

It’s not a bad thing having a little more scoring off the bench.  No one complains about Eddie being one dimensional.

His services will probably fit into the Celtics budget.  He can teach  Rondo.

Let’s see if he gets the contract.

we dont complain about eddie being one dimensional because he hits his shots, unlike ET, and takes them in the flow of the offense rather than sitting there for 10 seconds backing a guy down to shoot over him. he also passes well, hustles his heart out, and plays better team defense than sam could ever hope to archive.

I like Eddie.   However, he is steaky as his career shooting is 40.8%.  Last year in the playoffs it was 30.4%.  He is an undersized steaky shooting guard.
 
Also, he is a bit chubby and not a great ball handler or playmaker , as his 1.7 career assist per game shows. 

He doesn’t get to the line much.   He does have a quick release, (so it doesn’t get blocked) and he is a good 3 point shooter but that’s about it.  But when his shot is on, it’s a very good one dimensional weapon.

It would be a good thing if the Celtics get another veteran point guard.  Sam posting up is something we seldom see from other PGs on the team.   

[bucknersrevenge]

Whatever happened to the low risk/high reward thinking?   Sam’s skills have declined but he won’t be prone to rookie mistakes.  But I don’t think he will see that many minutes.  He is probably an insurance policy and mentor.

He is not as old as Reggie Miller.  KG likes him.  He’s a safer bet than Pruitt or Giddens as a 3rd string PG.

Sam scored 35 and 32 points in games last year.  Also, he scored over 20 pts in 12 games.  The same cannot be said for Rondo or Eddie.  Sam is an 86% career free throw shooter and knows how to draw fouls.  His mid range jumper is still pretty good. 

It’s not a bad thing having a little more scoring off the bench.  No one complains about Eddie being one dimensional.

His services will probably fit into the Celtics budget.  He can teach  Rondo.

Let’s see if he gets the contract.

we dont complain about eddie being one dimensional because he hits his shots, unlike ET, and takes them in the flow of the offense rather than sitting there for 10 seconds backing a guy down to shoot over him. he also passes well, hustles his heart out, and plays better team defense than sam could ever hope to archive.

I like Eddie.   However, he is steaky as his career shooting is 40.8%.  Last year in the playoffs it was 30.4%.  He is an undersized steaky shooting guard.
 
Also, he is a bit chubby and not a great ball handler or playmaker , as his 1.7 career assist per game shows. 

He doesn’t get to the line much.   He does have a quick release, (so it doesn’t get blocked) and he is a good 3 point shooter but that’s about it.  But when his shot is on, it’s a very good one dimensional weapon.

It would be a good thing if the Celtics get another veteran point guard.  Sam posting up is something we seldom see from other PGs on the team.   

Because we don't need our PGs to post up. We have plenty of post up options. But tell us more about how Rondo is bringing the team down again. 

[shookones99]

Whatever happened to the low risk/high reward thinking?   Sam’s skills have declined but he won’t be prone to rookie mistakes.  But I don’t think he will see that many minutes.  He is probably an insurance policy and mentor.

He is not as old as Reggie Miller.  KG likes him.  He’s a safer bet than Pruitt or Giddens as a 3rd string PG.

Sam scored 35 and 32 points in games last year.  Also, he scored over 20 pts in 12 games.  The same cannot be said for Rondo or Eddie.  Sam is an 86% career free throw shooter and knows how to draw fouls.  His mid range jumper is still pretty good. 

It’s not a bad thing having a little more scoring off the bench.  No one complains about Eddie being one dimensional.

His services will probably fit into the Celtics budget.  He can teach  Rondo.

Let’s see if he gets the contract.

we dont complain about eddie being one dimensional because he hits his shots, unlike ET, and takes them in the flow of the offense rather than sitting there for 10 seconds backing a guy down to shoot over him. he also passes well, hustles his heart out, and plays better team defense than sam could ever hope to archive.

I like Eddie.   However, he is steaky as his career shooting is 40.8%.  Last year in the playoffs it was 30.4%.  He is an undersized steaky shooting guard.
 
Also, he is a bit chubby and not a great ball handler or playmaker , as his 1.7 career assist per game shows. 

He doesn’t get to the line much.   He does have a quick release, (so it doesn’t get blocked) and he is a good 3 point shooter but that’s about it.  But when his shot is on, it’s a very good one dimensional weapon.

It would be a good thing if the Celtics get another veteran point guard.  Sam posting up is something we seldom see from other PGs on the team.   

Eddie brings much more than the stats show.  He is one of the leaders on this team and is always hustling.  His FG% was so low in the playoffs because he never knew when he was giong to play and when he was going to sit on the bench.  His defense (which is limited) is better than casells.  He's not a great passer but he definitely knows how to play within the offense better than cassell does. 

I predict that Cassell will play poorly enough to become the 3rd string PG.  He will not be happy about that and we will end up trading him by the deadline and ruin any possibility of him becoming an assistant here (which he would be very good at IMO). 
Although I still don't believe that were gonna sign him.

[Greenback]

Whatever happened to the low risk/high reward thinking?   Sam’s skills have declined but he won’t be prone to rookie mistakes.  But I don’t think he will see that many minutes.  He is probably an insurance policy and mentor.

He is not as old as Reggie Miller.  KG likes him.  He’s a safer bet than Pruitt or Giddens as a 3rd string PG.

Sam scored 35 and 32 points in games last year.  Also, he scored over 20 pts in 12 games.  The same cannot be said for Rondo or Eddie.  Sam is an 86% career free throw shooter and knows how to draw fouls.  His mid range jumper is still pretty good. 

It’s not a bad thing having a little more scoring off the bench.  No one complains about Eddie being one dimensional.

His services will probably fit into the Celtics budget.  He can teach  Rondo.

Let’s see if he gets the contract.

we dont complain about eddie being one dimensional because he hits his shots, unlike ET, and takes them in the flow of the offense rather than sitting there for 10 seconds backing a guy down to shoot over him. he also passes well, hustles his heart out, and plays better team defense than sam could ever hope to archive.

I like Eddie.   However, he is steaky as his career shooting is 40.8%.  Last year in the playoffs it was 30.4%.  He is an undersized steaky shooting guard.
 
Also, he is a bit chubby and not a great ball handler or playmaker , as his 1.7 career assist per game shows. 

He doesn’t get to the line much.   He does have a quick release, (so it doesn’t get blocked) and he is a good 3 point shooter but that’s about it.  But when his shot is on, it’s a very good one dimensional weapon.

It would be a good thing if the Celtics get another veteran point guard.  Sam posting up is something we seldom see from other PGs on the team.   

Because we don't need our PGs to post up. We have plenty of post up options. But tell us more about how Rondo is bringing the team down again. 

And our post players are, who again? 

Even a casual observer can see that the Celtics are a jump shooting team.
 
Just because Rondo cannot or will not post up, doesn’t mean we can’t use someone who can.

 

[2short]

Nice career Sam but I just can't see it.  My logic is that Pruitt can give us 5 minutes a game as 3rd string pg and learn from it for coming seasons.  Unless its a sign and trade for a vet (sams choice) then it doesn't make sense.  Sorry to say but he really didn't help us last year, he played well in 2 games imo, thats it.

[CoachBo]

Penciling Pruitt in for minutes makes as much sense as those who portend to know exactly what Giddens and Walker will contribute.

Fact is, no one knows. And championship teams don't win titles with benches full of "no one knows."

Nothing wrong with signing Sam. We're going to have to bring back PJ, too, because the bench big situation is a disaster. Nothing wrong with either one.

[JSD]

The more I think about this the more I think Sam is just throwing stuff out there and is really just hoping to get resigned.... but who knows? If it's true a trade will happen before the Season starts.

[bucknersrevenge]

Whatever happened to the low risk/high reward thinking?   Sam’s skills have declined but he won’t be prone to rookie mistakes.  But I don’t think he will see that many minutes.  He is probably an insurance policy and mentor.

He is not as old as Reggie Miller.  KG likes him.  He’s a safer bet than Pruitt or Giddens as a 3rd string PG.

Sam scored 35 and 32 points in games last year.  Also, he scored over 20 pts in 12 games.  The same cannot be said for Rondo or Eddie.  Sam is an 86% career free throw shooter and knows how to draw fouls.  His mid range jumper is still pretty good. 

It’s not a bad thing having a little more scoring off the bench.  No one complains about Eddie being one dimensional.

His services will probably fit into the Celtics budget.  He can teach  Rondo.

Let’s see if he gets the contract.

we dont complain about eddie being one dimensional because he hits his shots, unlike ET, and takes them in the flow of the offense rather than sitting there for 10 seconds backing a guy down to shoot over him. he also passes well, hustles his heart out, and plays better team defense than sam could ever hope to archive.

I like Eddie.   However, he is steaky as his career shooting is 40.8%.  Last year in the playoffs it was 30.4%.  He is an undersized steaky shooting guard.
 
Also, he is a bit chubby and not a great ball handler or playmaker , as his 1.7 career assist per game shows. 

He doesn’t get to the line much.   He does have a quick release, (so it doesn’t get blocked) and he is a good 3 point shooter but that’s about it.  But when his shot is on, it’s a very good one dimensional weapon.

It would be a good thing if the Celtics get another veteran point guard.  Sam posting up is something we seldom see from other PGs on the team.   

Because we don't need our PGs to post up. We have plenty of post up options. But tell us more about how Rondo is bringing the team down again. 

And our post players are, who again? 

Even a casual observer can see that the Celtics are a jump shooting team.
 
Just because Rondo cannot or will not post up, doesn’t mean we can’t use someone who can.

 

Well that's the first thing you've said I 100% agree with. There is no doubt this team had a jumpshooting, non-attacking feel to it last year. And while Paul and KG are both solid post up options as well as Perk, I felt the bench group led by 2 more jumpshooters created a problem. You are without a doubt right about that.

That's actually one of the reasons I'm okay with Posey not being on this team. I loved what Posey brought last year to help us win but 60% of all his shots were 3's. I'd much rather Eddie be the one main long range threat off the bench and the rest of the bench guys be more athletic and whose skills are more suited to attacking the rim.

While many of the guys we're bringing off the bench are inexperienced without question but I believe that inexperience to be counter-balanced and in the end outweighed by the infusion of talent, skill, and athleticism that both Doc and Danny believed were sorely lacking. While maybe only O'Bryant among them is a pure back-to-the-basket option these guys are all about taking the ball to the hole and that makes creating offense off the bench easier.

In Sam's case I just don't believe his 1 or 2 postups are gonna be enough of a weapon. Count me in as someone that does not believe a full training camp is gonna make a leopard change his stripes. At this point you gotta call a spade a spade. In the end, I just feel what the combination of Pruitt and Eddie at point will give us more than Sam and their weaknesses aren't as glaring as Sam's are at this point. 5 years ago I couldn't say this but now I can.

EDIT: Hey I'm one away from my first star!!