Sam Cassell may start the season as an assistant coach

[JSD]

Guard Sam Cassell, who has a guaranteed contract, sat out last night and has played in only one exhibition. When asked if Cassell could be an assistant coach and not a player when the season starts, Rivers said, "I don't know yet. We'll see." The Celtics have 16 players on their roster and must cut one before the season begins. The only player with a non-guaranteed deal is forward Darius Miles. Boston Globe

www.hoopshype.com


Well, Looks like we have our 15...

[biggs]

One question.

Can he suit up if need be? 

A playing coach would be great.  Maybe Doc can play some garbage minutes for us.

Seriously though wouldn't it be cool to have an nba old timers league?

Jordan vs. Bird in their 50's?  Magic would probably dominate these days, he's deisel now.  Barkley is so fat now!  It would be pretty entertaining and you know some of these guys are still in great shape.  They should do it in the summer so we have something to watch other than the wnba on non-olympic years. 

[JSD]

One question.

Can he suit up if need be? 

A playing coach would be great.  Maybe Doc can play some garbage minutes for us.

Seriously though wouldn't it be cool to have an nba old timers league?

Jordan vs. Bird in their 50's?  Magic would probably dominate these days, he's deisel now.  Barkley is so fat now!  It would be pretty entertaining and you know some of these guys are still in great shape.  They should do it in the summer so we have something to watch other than the wnba on non-olympic years. 

Hobbs had mentioned before that according to the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) Player coaches can no longer exist.

Dana Barros, if you remember started as an assistant and became a player when injuries happened.

[nickagneta]

Jsaad, how exactly does a "We'll see" answer equate to Cassell being the odd man out in the 15 man rotation? I think it more likely that Miles is cut, and Cassell is on the roster, inactive, in street clothes on most nights, coaching, but still immediately available the next night if something happens to House, Rondo, or Pruitt.

Technically he'd be a inactive 15th player but everyone would know that he is really a coach.

[JSD]

Jsaad, how exactly does a "We'll see" answer equate to Cassell being the odd man out in the 15 man rotation? I think it more likely that Miles is cut, and Cassell is on the roster, inactive, in street clothes on most nights, coaching, but still immediately available the next night if something happens to House, Rondo, or Pruitt.

yes, I am speculating.

Rivers would have shutdown the possibility of Cassell being an assistant if it wasn't being talked about.

I'm not saying it's a definite but I believe the C's are leaning toward the "Dana Barros" loophole to have him on the roster...

This will give more time for Danny to make a trade.

[Roy Hobbs]

I think it depends upon what type of contract Cassell signed.

The article indicates he signed a "guaranteed contract".  If that's the Uniform Player Contract, which all players sign, he can't then shift that salary over to become a coach.  Instead, the team would have to cut him, and negotiate a coach's salary with him.  (Otherwise, it's circumventing the salary cap.)

No matter what, we can only have 15 players under contract.  The team can't "activate" Cassell, as some have suggested.  Instead, they'd have to sign him to a new contract, after waiving the first one.

Also, according to Larry Coon, the CBA prevents player-coaches, as this is seen as a means of circumventing the cap.  I'm assuming this means players can't be *paid* as both a coach and player at the same time, as the coach's salary would allow teams to pay players pretty much whatever they wanted.

[Birdbrain]

Well if you are one to 'read tea leaves'  the fact that Doc didn't completely disregard the questions as nonsense seems to be step in that direction.  But I do agree if he's not an assistant coach then Miles as of right now would be the one on 'chopping block'.  But since there are documented reasons why you might want to be patient with Miles it's in Boston's best interest to make the assistant coach option a reality.

[BrickJames]

Guard Sam Cassell, who has a guaranteed contract, sat out last night and has played in only one exhibition. When asked if Cassell could be an assistant coach and not a player when the season starts, Rivers said, "I don't know yet. We'll see." The Celtics have 16 players on their roster and must cut one before the season begins. The only player with a non-guaranteed deal is forward Darius Miles. Boston Globe

www.hoopshype.com


Well, Looks like we have our 15...

Give me a break - did someone buy you a jump to conclusions mat?

If Doc said "no, Sam won't be cut" outright after Danny said Scal wouldn't be, there would be a bunch of crying, both on this blog and on the team, about how either Pruitt or Miles would be cut.  Wait and see means just that.

[guava_wrench]

Could Cassell retire and then unretire?

How many times in a year can you sign a player to a league subsidized minimum contract and then cut them?

[ssspence]

I think it depends upon what type of contract Cassell signed.

The article indicates he signed a "guaranteed contract".  If that's the Uniform Player Contract, which all players sign, he can't then shift that salary over to become a coach.  Instead, the team would have to cut him, and negotiate a coach's salary with him.  (Otherwise, it's circumventing the salary cap.)

No matter what, we can only have 15 players under contract.  The team can't "activate" Cassell, as some have suggested.  Instead, they'd have to sign him to a new contract, after waiving the first one.

Also, according to Larry Coon, the CBA prevents player-coaches, as this is seen as a means of circumventing the cap.  I'm assuming this means players can't be *paid* as both a coach and player at the same time, as the coach's salary would allow teams to pay players pretty much whatever they wanted.

can cassell not either: a) retire, and thus have his salary come off the books (only to potentially come out of retirement later), or more to the point, b) agree to a settlement / give that money back? maybe that's the same question, but seems strange that the player has no ability to relieve the team of it's obligations...

[JSD]

Guard Sam Cassell, who has a guaranteed contract, sat out last night and has played in only one exhibition. When asked if Cassell could be an assistant coach and not a player when the season starts, Rivers said, "I don't know yet. We'll see." The Celtics have 16 players on their roster and must cut one before the season begins. The only player with a non-guaranteed deal is forward Darius Miles. Boston Globe

www.hoopshype.com


Well, Looks like we have our 15...

Give me a break - did someone buy you a jump to conclusions mat?

If Doc said "no, Sam won't be cut" outright after Danny said Scal wouldn't be, there would be a bunch of crying, both on this blog and on the team, about how either Pruitt or Miles would be cut.  Wait and see means just that.

What I wrote was tongue and cheek, but It is my opinion that the C's are taking a good hard look at making Sam an assistant this season because of Doc's statement and the C's situation having 16 players they want to keep. Maybe Danny is buying time to make a trade?

Sam could get cut, sign as a coach and if a trade or injury happens he could quit as a coach and re-sign as a player (see Dana Barros 2004).

It seems like a legitimate option.

[JSD]

Jump to conclusions mat...  That is pretty good. TP.

[nickagneta]

I think it depends upon what type of contract Cassell signed.

The article indicates he signed a "guaranteed contract".  If that's the Uniform Player Contract, which all players sign, he can't then shift that salary over to become a coach.  Instead, the team would have to cut him, and negotiate a coach's salary with him.  (Otherwise, it's circumventing the salary cap.)

No matter what, we can only have 15 players under contract.  The team can't "activate" Cassell, as some have suggested.  Instead, they'd have to sign him to a new contract, after waiving the first one.

Also, according to Larry Coon, the CBA prevents player-coaches, as this is seen as a means of circumventing the cap.  I'm assuming this means players can't be *paid* as both a coach and player at the same time, as the coach's salary would allow teams to pay players pretty much whatever they wanted.

Roy, is my scenario circumventing the CBA rule? If he is on the roster as a player and inactive because only 12 players are allowed to be dressed, how can the league stop Sam from sitting at the end of the bench and coaching up the young PGs, only as a teammate?

[BudweiserCeltic]

I don't see the problem with that scenario nick, unless I'm misunderstanding... you can parallel it to the players who are injured and are dressed in street clothes in the bench. Also, there's the whole Player/Coach thing that we've seen in the past with the Celtics.

[greg683x]

All of this seems like a lateral move to me.

They obviously brought Cassell back and signed him to a player contract, because they want veteran insurance at the PG spot.  If they still want to be able to use him in case of injury, or in the playoffs, someone needs to get waived.  There's no way around it. 

Sam cant just be a coach, and then one night say, Im gonna be a player tonight since Eddie is injured, or b/c were playing Detriot.  Someone has to get waived to make room for him.

IMO Darius Miles shouldnt make the team, and I wouldnt use Cassells decision to be a coach as an excuse to sign him either.  My point is, whats the purpose of signing Darius Miles if youre going to have to waive him later on if theres an injury, or if we need Cassell in the playoffs.

Even if Cassell becomes an assistant, Id still cut Miles and keep the open roster spot, for either Cassell or a proven free agent to fill a position of need later on in the year (ex. PJ Brown)