Sam Cassell will play an important role alongside Joe Mazzulla this season as the Boston Celtics look to get over the hump.
The Celtics hired Cassell, a three-time NBA champion who earned a ring with Boston in 2008, to join Mazzulla's coaching staff. He'll bring a wealth of experience to the role, something Boston noticeably lacked last season following Damon Stoudamire's departure.
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During Tuesday's C's practice, Cassell shared his ultimate goal heading into the new campaign.
“The whole main thing is winning Banner 18,” Cassell said, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “That’s the only thing that matters to me. And if it matters to me, I’m gonna make sure it matters to (the players).”
Cassell's words will carry weight. The 53-year-old has a track record as a former NBA All-Star who spent 15 years as a player in the league before becoming a coach. He was Doc Rivers' lead assistant in Philadelphia for the past three seasons and he previously spent five years with the Washington Wizards and six with the Los Angeles Clippers.
"My voice will be, 'Hey guys, this is a golden opportunity for us.' It ain't easy. I know how it feels to win a championship in Boston," Cassell said, as transcribed by MassLive.com's Souichi Tereda. "It will make any player, everybody in that organization who was a part of winning a championship -- it's life-changing."
The Celtics' core could use the push after coming up short in the NBA Finals in 2022 and falling to the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals in seven games.
Cassell will join another experienced coach in Charles Lee, who was hired by the C's after serving as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks for the last five years.