I think Sam is the obvious player to be cut in order for us to add a big man for the stretch run. He would just come back as a coach, whether he retires, is cut or traded...
I disagree. If we bring on Marbury or Pruitt truly proves himself, I'd be OK with cutting Cassell. But right now I don't feel comfortable with House or Pruitt running the point. Eddie has been shooting the lights out recently, which is great. However, he's still not a point guard. That issue from last year has been slightly mitigated by Rondo's stellar play this year: the simple fact of the matter is that whoever the backup PG is in the playoffs, he'll likely only see 10-12 minutes per game. Still, if Rondo's in foul trouble (or worse yet, gets a minor injury and misses a few games in the playoffs--I don't mention a major injury, since our season would be over anyway), I'd like to have someone backing him up who can face defensive pressure and not crumble. Eddie isn't the answer and I don't think I'll ever totally trust Pruitt this year based on his complete lack of experience. So unless there's an external answer, I hope Cassell gets integrated before the season is over.
A nice bonus to Cassell is his ability to create his own shot. Right now the bench basically has the following: Powe posting up, which doesn't work against really tall front courts like the Pistons, Cavs, Hawks, or Lakers (so that might be a problem); ditto with the undersized Baby; Tony Allen driving to the hoop in some sort of out of control manner, which often leads to a turnover; or as we saw last night, awkward handoffs to Eddie House that lead to awkward forced shots. While I didn't like what Cassell did last year in the playoffs, I do like the fact that he can create his own shot.