its not about his productivity. its about his leadership. Tmac is not a great leader compared to Cassell. Cassell could push Yao to Hakeem levels and put fire in2 Tmac.
I don't think JVG wants Sam. Did anyone hear JVG commenting on Sam when he mentioned "his declining lateral quickness". Sam will be a year older and slower, he has been a spark for the Clips this year but for him to take up a roster spot would mean that we would have to drop DW and pay him more than the vet's min that we would probably be paying DW. Don't think he is quite worth that.
look we have juwan and he has "declining lateral quickness" and a "declining jumper". so sam wouldnt be so bad.
Did you just say you don't think Sam is worth the veteran's minimum? Do you realize we can sign as many players to the minimum as we want? We can sign both Cassell and DW to the vet minimum. Clarify, or lose all creditability. I'd kill to see Cassell on our roster for the vet minimum, as I think any Rockets fan should.
cassell makes everyone better. he's mentoring Shaun Livingston and suddenly this guy is an offensive force, breaking, dunking, hitting mid range jumpers. could u imagine what he could do with stromile and yao and luther head?
You don't have to tell me! I'm sold. I understand Jeff's opinion that Cassell can't make us a contender right now because we have too many holes, but even still I'd consider a large portion of the MLE to bring him here, but for the vet minimum? For the vet minimum I wouldn't even have to think about it. It's an absolute no brainer.
No, I mean that to bring him on would mean that the Rox would have to make changes to accommodate him. We would have to drop DW because we're trying to get younger than last year. The biggest reason we aren't going to get Sam is he still wants to get paid and I don't blame him based on his contribution for the Clips this year. I don't see him asking for anything less than the 5-6M he is making this year. If he wants to come to the Rox for the vet min, I would be for it but his impact won't be as great as it was for the Clips this year.
I tend to agree. No matter where Sam goes, his teammates always seem to play better. He generally gets his, but his teammates improve by leaps and bounds.
We could easily pay Cassell if we really wanted to. We just have to offer him the MLE for longer than he is going to play for. In other words, if he is looking for a 2 year contract for 8-10 a year. We just need to offer him a 4 year deal at the MLE.
the irony is that the rockets were looking for a good PG after they traded Sam away..they are still looking
CD seems to have a crush on Spanoulis to be our back-up PG according to today's newspaper. I doubt we'll sign Cassell. We will most likely split the MLE on Span and one other player.
Sam wont sign with Rockets. He already said, few times, publicly his first choice will be clippers and considering Nuggets because of Karl. He never mentioned Rockets, think we can forget about him and move on. How about signing Cassell as assistant coach once he retired???
It would be great to get Sam back, but it wont happen, he'll command to much money and our MLE will be split on maybe Vasponilous and another free agent. I scoffed when we didnt trade J.Ho for Sam last year, right before the deadline when we had the deal. The rockets were scared that Howard was to valuable, but anyone who plays beside a tandem of Tmac + Yao, will have his value rise just from the fact of the attention they both command. Oh well, can't cry over spilled milk. Oh tinman, from your other posts, methinks you live to much in the past.
This is a great article about Sam. NBA Insider: Sam I Am Special CHRIS BROUSSARD Blog Sam I Am Special He's played for seven teams, including three in one season, and made one All-Star team in 13 years, so don't expect to see his name in the Hall of Fame. But it's time we recognized Sam Cassell as one of the best point guards of his era -- with John Stockton (if you throw him in the same era), Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Steve Nash and now Chauncey Billups. Besides them, who else has been better than Sam I Am? Some might argue Tim Hardaway, but Sam definitely gets the nod over Mike Bibby. And don't even bring up Starbury. Sam -- for all his antics and contract squabbles -- is just a winner. Pure and simple. Everywhere he goes, he wins. In Houston, he dropped daggers from behind the arc in helping Dream win two rings; Milwaukee was a playoff mainstay during his time there; and Minnesota might have beaten the Lakers in the '04 Western Conference finals if Sam hadn't been out with an injury. Sam even won in New Jersey in the B.K. (Before Kidd) era, leading a team that included a rookie Keith Van Horn, an overrated Jayson Williams, Kendall Gill and second-year guard Kerry Kittles to the playoffs. And if you remember, they actually played Jordan's Bulls tough in the first round. I covered the Nets the following year for the New York Times when big things were expected from the club. But they started 3-17, fired coach John Calipari and traded Sam for Steph midway through that lockout-shortened season in a three-way deal. But I'll go to my grave believing the Nets would've been nice that year if Sam hadn't suffered an ankle injury in the first game of the season. The team was in Atlanta on opening night, back when the Hawks of Dikembe Mutombo and Steve Smith were one of the East's top teams. Sam went for 36 but hurt his hamstring (if I remember correctly) at some point in the fourth quarter. But Calipari, who knew Sam was the key to his club, left him out there to limp through the period. Sam helped force OT but hurt his ankle in the process and played just three more games in Jersey. Van Horn had 29 in that game and looked like a future superstar. That's one of the great things about Sam -- he breeds confidence in his teammates and makes them better. I'm not so sure the direction of Van Horn's whole career would not have been different if Cassell had remained in Jersey. Sam loved Van Horn, always pumping him up, saying he was their go-to guy. Then Marbury came and began tearing Van Horn down, and the rest is history. Ditto for Kittles. Kittles had the best season of his career playing with Sam, averaging 17.2 points, three above his career average. And of course, Kevin Garnett was an MVP, averaging career-highs in points and rebounds, while getting out of the first round for the only time in his career when Sam was in Minny. So is it any coincidence that the L.A. Clippers finally defy their woeful past and make all sorts of history the year Sam joins them? I think not. Check it: The Clippers' six other top players (Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, Cuttino Mobley, Corey Maggette, Quinton Ross and Shaun Livingston) entered this season with 23 years of NBA experience and only three playoff appearances combined. Sam? This is his 10th playoff season. You do the math. If Sam can pass on his knowledge to his understudy, Livingston, who's more gifted than his mentor, the Clips could be a powerhouse for a long time. Just don't forget who got the ball rolling.
