Cassell to Sign Contract With Celtics Next Week!!!

[mrautobahn]

I think Pruitt is done...I guess Danny and Doc don`t see much in Gabe if they think we need Sam back...

I really like Pruitt so I would be sad to see us give up on him so early but Danny knows best...

No... if you read the article on Canman's post above... the Celtics love Pruitt...

My opinion is that the Celtics are going to bring everyone in and see who wants to stay... and you will never know... perhaps Cassell would rather be an assistant coach at the end of the training camp rather than be waived as a player...

Or DA does another one of those 2 fer one deals... and as I predicted I see a lively thread going on about who is going to be traded already...

Geez!

[canman1971]

Just give Scal his 6 million and say thank you and call it a day. We also have no clue what Miles is going to bring, so it will all take care of itself and I don't see Pruitt going anywhere, especially for 1 year of Cassell. That is bad management.

[underneathtoDJ]

by tombattor on Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:29 pm

bruno sundov wrote:
underneathtoDJ wrote:
I know Sam was pretty bad for us last year, but I think that was about as bad as he can play. I think there were times he was trying to live up to being a clutch veteran and was trying to do too much. With some familiarity with the offense and an entire preseason to get comfortable with the guys around him, I'm ok with Sam coming off the bench for 15 minutes a night. I've yet to see anything in Pruitt that shows he can get the job done, despite his potential. We're trying to win championships and it's tough to do with such a young/inexperienced backup PG. Hopefully Sam can get back to his big shot, testicle dancing ways and hopefully Doc let's him know that if he dribbles the ball up court and jacks a 3 with 15-20 seconds left on the shot clock (like he did so many times last year) he will find himself 'coaching' from the bench a lot sooner than he expected.

I can see you don't have a lot of post. One thing we don't take kindly to is on this board is commonsense, or being rational. So please tone it down for the love of god.

You make me laugh. What common sense are you talking about here?

That he HOPES that Sam can get his big shot back? And HOPEFULLY doc will let him know that Sam can't just jack up the shot? Seems like a lot of hoping when we saw that he did neither last year.

Maybe I should empty out my savings and buy lottery tickets because HOPEFULLY i'll win a $250 million jackpot. By your logic, that would be using my common sense, right?

We're talking about a 2nd or 3rd string PG here, not a starter. I'm not expecting much from Sam but I just can't buy into Pruitt at this point and we all know Eddie can't handle all of the PG duties. What's the big deal if we bring Sam back to play 10-15 mins a game? He's a veteran PG who the big 3 are comfortable playing with (Ray, esp.). I know he wasn't very strong for us last year and he drove me crazy, but I think he's better than what he showed and he can at least be a veteran presence in the locker room to further develop the likes of Rajon and Pruitt.

[tombattor]

I just don't understand why people think Sam will magically become this ultimate teammate when he didn't show any sign of doing that as a new comer who obviously needed to try and fit in? When he played, he played very selfishly. He didn't pass, took a ton of shots (I saw a stat on ESPN that he averaged over 20 shot attempts per 40 min) and let his man get by him at will. Yes, he did a decent job of bringing up the ball against pressure, but what good is that if he just launches a shot without setting up the offense?

This year, Sam will be even worse because now he'll have a false sense of entitlement after being with the team for a little while. And for a selfish mother **** like this, that's a dangerous thing and we shouldn't let him ruin our chemistry that way. Just a thought of having to see this cock sucker on this team for a year is making me sick.

[Rocky5000]

Danny is either losing it or something else is going on. We always have 4 point guards in camp? Since when? Last year I counted only 3. Before that, we had Delonte West, Rondo, and Telfair - that's 3. Before that, we had West, Greene, and Banks.

What are the chances that Sam Cassell and House are both going to be benched in favor of Pruitt? Zippo. Even with Eddie here Pruitt wasn't looking at getting much time. Now Eddie is thinking - I finally got a 2 year deal, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to play any.

If we have 4 pg in camp, that means one of them is going to get cut or traded. Eddie and Sam both have new contracts, so a cut for them would not make sense. Rondo is the starter, so Pruitt is headed somewhere else. That's the only conclusion that makes sense. The 'we love where Gabe is' comment may be in there to encourage trading partners.

[underneathtoDJ]

I just don't get all the Gabe Pruitt love here. He has never shown he can play a regular role where a team can count on him to be a backup PG. Sure, he's never really been given that opportunity, but we're talking about a 2nd round pick who spent most of his season in the D League. He MIGHT be able to do it, but for a team looking to contend for championships, I just don't think that's enough.

I agree, Sam was bad last year, real bad. And the selfish shots he took early in the shot clock HAVE to stop. I think now that he's with the team from the get-go he may not feel like he has to "prove" himself and show that he can take the big shot. He knows he has 3 future HOFers to distribute the ball to and I'm sure Danny and Doc have talked to him about his shot selection. If he doesn't change that attitude, the team can replace him. If he does change, he becomes a savy veteran to backup Rajon. Like I said before, we're talking about a 2nd or 3rd string PG here, and I'll take my chances with Sam over an unproven D League point like Pruitt.

The team did alright with that selfish mother******** last year, and I think they can do it again this year. Maybe I'm wrong and I can admit that this may not work, but I don't think this is as bad a move as everyone is making it out to be. Like I said, he's a 2nd or 3rd string PG that will play about 10-15 mins a night.

[LenBiasBaller]

Well I'll be damned. What do I know? First move this offseason I do not agree with. I can't imagine eddie being happy with this. It looks like he's gonna get his job stolen from him again. And he had better offers elsewhere to play. After he shut his mouth and played the good soldier and played well when Doc finally remembered he was on the team. Now he's gonna squeeze Eddie again. Plus I have serious doubts as to whether or not Sam will even look to include any of the kids when he's on the floor. This just has "bad idea" written all over it to me.

This is very good point about upsetting House who I feel earned that backup spot. This makes me feel that Sam will be the one to go at the end of camp and he will join on with the coaching staff...he can at least make Pruitt work his butt off by thinking he might actually be on the chopping block...Maybe DA told Sam to work the PG's hard and then we'll get you on the staff...I don't think thats a reach...I would rather just part ways with Sam he seems done to me, we need to add some athleticism not an old 50 yr old chucker that flops...even my gf cant stand his @ss...and I don't know about the whole "he'll learn the system crap and he'll be better"....i'm not exactly sold on that...

[tombattor]

I just don't get all the Gabe Pruitt love here. He has never shown he can play a regular role where a team can count on him to be a backup PG. Sure, he's never really been given that opportunity, but we're talking about a 2nd round pick who spent most of his season in the D League. He MIGHT be able to do it, but for a team looking to contend for championships, I just don't think that's enough.

I agree, Sam was bad last year, real bad. And the selfish shots he took early in the shot clock HAVE to stop. I think now that he's with the team from the get-go he may not feel like he has to "prove" himself and show that he can take the big shot. He knows he has 3 future HOFers to distribute the ball to and I'm sure Danny and Doc have talked to him about his shot selection. If he doesn't change that attitude, the team can replace him. If he does change, he becomes a savy veteran to backup Rajon. Like I said before, we're talking about a 2nd or 3rd string PG here, and I'll take my chances with Sam over an unproven D League point like Pruitt.

The team did alright with that selfish mother******** last year, and I think they can do it again this year. Maybe I'm wrong and I can admit that this may not work, but I don't think this is as bad a move as everyone is making it out to be. Like I said, he's a 2nd or 3rd string PG that will play about 10-15 mins a night.

Yes, we're talking about 2nd or 3rd string PG. But that 2nd or 3rd string PG does more harm than any 2nd or 3rd string PG should. Sam has been nothing but negative last year from the beginning and got worse as the playoffs got going. This guy also has a gigantic ego and personality that will undoubtedly affect the team if he's not happy with his PT.

We had a great thing going last year with everyone singing Kumbaya and sharing the ball. Sam goes against all that.

[Dave_From_NB]

Danny is either losing it or something else is going on. We always have 4 point guards in camp? Since when? Last year I counted only 3. Before that, we had Delonte West, Rondo, and Telfair - that's 3. Before that, we had West, Greene, and Banks.

Perhaps he is referring to undrafted players invited to camp on essentially try-outs as being in the 4. We had Manuel, Batista, Jones, Wallace as invitees last year - even Tony Allen sort of fit in the PG mode last year with that experiment.

[ParticleMan]

Well, look at it this way: Training camp just got a little more interesting;)

As long as it's a vet min contract, I guess I'm not too unhappy about Sam I Am. But I just don't understand why they'd give up on Pruitt so early. Oh well, I guess we'll find out what the plan is by Nov 1.

[Celtsfan1980]

I can understand the complaints, but you'd just put Allen at the 3, House at the 2, and Pruitt/Cassell at the 1. People are saying House will get less minutes, but I would think it would effect the rookies more. Pruitt may be effected, but he'd get plenty of time in blowouts and get a lot more time if Rondo or Cassell are injured. You'd have to assume that will happen multiple times this season. Hopefully Pruitt will become the regular reserve at point guard starting in 2009-2010 season. I don't see it as being too bad as long as it's only one year.

[bruno sundov]

I know Sam was pretty bad for us last year, but I think that was about as bad as he can play. I think there were times he was trying to live up to being a clutch veteran and was trying to do too much. With some familiarity with the offense and an entire preseason to get comfortable with the guys around him, I'm ok with Sam coming off the bench for 15 minutes a night. I've yet to see anything in Pruitt that shows he can get the job done, despite his potential. We're trying to win championships and it's tough to do with such a young/inexperienced backup PG. Hopefully Sam can get back to his big shot, testicle dancing ways and hopefully Doc let's him know that if he dribbles the ball up court and jacks a 3 with 15-20 seconds left on the shot clock (like he did so many times last year) he will find himself 'coaching' from the bench a lot sooner than he expected.

I can see you don't have a lot of post. One thing we don't take kindly to is on this board is commonsense, or being rational. So please tone it down for the love of god.

You make me laugh. What common sense are you talking about here?

That he HOPES that Sam can get his big shot back? And HOPEFULLY doc will let him know that Sam can't just jack up the shot? Seems like a lot of hoping when we saw that he did neither last year.

Maybe I should empty out my savings and buy lottery tickets because HOPEFULLY i'll win a $250 million jackpot. By your logic, that would be using my common sense, right?

It seemed like a rational well thought out post to me.

[Jammer]

First off, the TEAM played much better with Eddie House on the floor than Sam Cassell.

I would have thought that Doc noticed this.

If Sam does get a contract, I would expect that it is not guaranteed, and that he could be cut in camp.

Sam has a big mouth, and he is not UBUNTU.

Going back to my two posts on the previous page, the only way that I would add Sam to the team is if:

1) Sam agrees to keep his mouth shut - which is impossible
2) Sam agrees to be INACTIVE all year unless Eddie or Rajon is not available
3) Sam agrees to a NON-GUARANTEED contract
4) Gabe Pruitt is moved for a second round pick

If all of the above were to be FIRM, especially #'s 1 and 2, then I could see this seeing the light.

Otherwise, it's just Sam stirring the pot.

And I am still hoping that at the end of training camp Dikembe Mutombo decides to sign with the Celtics for minimum, which would necessitate another player to be cut, likely O'Bryant or Davis should Mutombo decide that he wants to play about 6 minutes per half, and finish games alongside Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen and Rondo.

[Fencer reregistered]

What baffles me even more than the idea of Cassell as a returning player is Cassell as a coach.

He's consistently cheerful. That's a plus. But he also showed terrible shot selection, and he says a lot of things he shouldn't. Those are two minuses.

I guess the idea is that Cassell would be good at transmitting certain skills or something, but I don't get it.

[Truthiracy]

Unless Rajon Rondo develops a consistent jump shot, I do NOT want Sam Cassell coaching him for any amount of time.

[PPAW4Life]

Cassell is a scoring PG we all know this.

He needs the ball in his hand to be effective and playing with 3 AS players makes it tough to have the ball in your hands.

Cassell needs more time to adjust to his new role...can he be a playmaker more so than a scorer at this point in his career? Can he just be satisfied with directing the offense and hitting spot up jumpers? Can he be an effective scoring PG off the bench when 1 or 2 of the Big Three are rested?

I don't see how we can say he can't do these things because he only played a handful of games for us last year....maybe with training camp a more defined role and the security and knowledge that this will be his "last hurrah" might make him very motivated to do well....to say that Cassell is a "selfish" type of player is pretty harsh.

He doesn't have the passing abilities of a Steve Nash or the quickness and playmaking abilities of Rondo....he is who he is a scorer who can hit awkward jumpers from midrange and post up smaller guards. His assist to turnover ratio has been pretty good through his career (almost 3:1) and he shoots pretty well for a PG (just not from 3 point range anymore) who can hold his own on the boards as well.

Guys I have no problems with signing Cassell who can still give a solid 10-15 min. off the bench when needed....signing him for production is probably not the main intention...we still want him for is experience and balls...he knows the game and can help in other ways.

I know some ppl are high on Gabe Pruitt but he's still young and we don't need to be playing two young PG's at this time.

[TheCelticTruth]

im not sure i see the rationale behind this move. could it be that weve decided we dont need a swingman if darius cant cut it, and were only bringing him in because of the potential reward, deciding that if darius isnt going to make the team, the minutes he would play might as well go to walker and giddens and that cassell is our preferred 15th man if darius is not?

i dont see the point in letting darius go before training camp, otherwise we really shouldnt have brought him in at all, and i dont see gabe going anywhere, or house being happy as a third PG off the bench, even if he plays some minutes at the 2. cassell creates a logjam...

in not necessarily against this, but i dont see the logic.

also, cassell was not terrible for us, thats a stretch. while it would also be a stretch to say he was anything more than decent, its not like he cost us games that we would have won if he hadnt played. considering how well he played for the clips, i am still puzzled by the lack of positive on court contributions from sam. he was having a nice year before he came here.

and please, the man is a true PG, he is not selfish. he does play with the ball in his hands a lot, but that doesnt make him selfish. he also likes to shoot, but he still plays a good PG. i think his PG skills were lost in translation though, because our starters need a guy who can either have the ball a lot or not i.e. rondo. rondo makes an impact without having the ball. sam does not. sam should run the team when our primary scorers are out, not when they are in, except for a shooting line up at the end of 1/4s, 1/2s, games

[TheCelticTruth]

we still want him for is experience and balls...he knows the game and can help in other ways.

he does have the largest balls in the history of the human (?) race...check out the guiness book of world records

[Kefa461]

Hey did someone say Sam is coming back..... .........Me's just think that is so great......board heart attack time......... ........

[sully00]

I am glad to hear they are bringing back Sam, you have to have more than one NBA pg on your roster, hopefully Pruitt keeps him in warm ups but without him we are a Rondo ankle sprain from scouring the D-League for a starting pg.