Celtics hire Sam Cassell to join Joe Mazzulla's coaching staff
BOSTON -- Joe Mazzulla has a new top assistant for his coaching staff. The Celtics have reportedly added longtime assistant Sam Cassell to Mazzulla's bench, according to multiple reports.
After a 15-year career as a player that saw him win three NBA titles -- including one with the Celtics in 2008 -- Cassell has been an assistant coach since 2009. He started his coaching career with the Washington Wizards before a stint on Doc Rivers' staff with the L.A. Clippers from 2014-20. Cassell then followed Rivers to Philadelphia and spent the last three seasons as his top assistant with the 76ers.
Cassell has been a head-coaching candidate for the last several years and interviewed for jobs with the Clippers, the Jazz, and the Rockets, but has yet to get a top job. The 53-year-old will now bring a level of experience -- both as a player and as a coach -- that was severely lacking from Mazzulla's staff for the majority of last season.
Mazzulla now has a right-hand man on the Boston bench, but has other vacancies to fill this offseason. Several assistants who were hired by Ime Udoka in 2021 will reportedly join him in Houston, leaving other coaching voids for the Celtics to fill.
But adding Cassell is a great start for Mazzulla and Brad Stevens to bolster the Boston staff for the 2023-24 NBA season.