Shaun Livingston's been doing a kick-ass job as the starter for the Clippers. I know they're not oging to pay 7-8M a season to a guy playing 20 minutes off the bench. I posted on a Clippers board which wasn't so active, but the two responses I did recieve seemed to indicate the Clippers would be willing to move him for a backup (Alston) and some financial relief (Sura?). I expected Sura to be back by now. Now, if he makes a miracle recovery, then I'm more than happy to allow Alston, Sura and Spanoulis to handle the PG spot. However, this team is a contender when healthy and all it's missing is the attitude, the swagger, the confidence. Forget about not having T-Mac right now. I'm talking fully healthy, this team is up there with Dallas and San Antonio. They just need someone who has heart and displays it on the court. Alston's a good player for 25 minutes a game, but if our PG is going to have to be playing 30-35 minutes a game, I'd rather have someone with more experience and someone less reliant on a 3pt shot. My proposal is trading Alston and Sura for Cassell. Because I want this discussion to revolve around the positives and negatives of HAVING Cassell at PG, let's ASSUME that the Clippers would be ok with this deal. Spanoulis is becoming increasingly comfortable with his minutes, so he's looking at taking 10-15 minutes at PG. T-Mac and Head will combine for about 5 minutes. Which leaves Cassell with about 30 minutes of playing time. Perfect as we do not want him exhausted for the playoffs, where he becomes essential to this team. Another possibility is signing someone short-term to play backup minutes to give Spanoulis another 10-15 games to get comfortable. Someone like a Rick Brunson who could come out in case of emergency for a few minutes here and there. Any thoughts on this?
They are and they can because Livinston is still on a rookie contract. Sam's making under 7 mil and it drops down to nearer 6 mil next season. Dunleavy's promised him a coaching job when he retires, he's being groomed for that role.
The Clippers are not the cheapskates they used to be, but they're not idiots. 7M for a backup if VERY steep. It's not a matter of whether they can... Look at what the Knicks can do... It's a matter of whether it's smart to do so or not. Livingston's in his 3rd year, he'll be up for renewal soon. So I kind of disagree with you there.
Unless the Clippers tank, Sam ain't going nowhere this season. Trading him would be totally stupid because it would be like sending up the white flag.
To the Rockets, I agree because they have no assets to speak of. But Cassell as part of a larger Iverson deal somewhere is not necessarily a white flag.
man, i'd love to have cassell. he makes all the right decisions, and has that nice little mid range game, and a pretty good long range shot. also, he's not as injury prone as other old guys because he plays such a ground oriented game, all about faking and moving well.
We've had these Cassell threads before, and I'm not sure I've ever even bothered to post in one of them. I always either thought that this idea was too much of a pipe dream, or that it just wasn't a smart move for the team's well-being. Well, times have changed. It's certainly closer to being plausible, considering that Livingston has assumed a much larger role lately and Cassell has taken a back seat. Depending on how much longer the Clippers falter, they may be willing to shop him. Whether we have pieces they find interesting is obviously a concern, but you never know what a team is thinking. I still remember how dumbfounded I was the day I woke up and heard we had traded Jim Jackson and Bostjan Nachbar for David Wesley. I thought it was a joke. So, if the money makes sense, anything can happen really. As for how Cassell would fit in...well, do I even need to bother saying he'd be better than Rafer? I didn't think so. Now, while it isn't hard to be better than a PG who doesn't get assists and can't shoot to save his life, Sam definitely has something left in the tank. For stretches of time when Tracy is out (now and in the future...because you know it will happen) I think Sam could be our 2nd scorer and even 1st scorer when needed. This season he's only had two games where he took more than 16 shots. In those games he scored 31 (14-24) and 35 (13-24). When it's needed, he's still got it. Anyway, with Tracy's back like it is and Yao seemingly entering his prime, it may be more apparent now than ever that we are indeed locked into "WIN NOW" mode. Might as well get someone we think could be the PG for a championship team. Or in this case, someone who already has been.
i love Sam and Horry, but they aren't coming back. Why on earth would another team trade Rafer for Sam? People have learned their lesson on that Marco Jaric trade, that Sam is a hero. Plus people in LA love Sam. Sam is the man!
