CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Cassell Traded to Kings

According to ESPN, the Celtics have traded Sam Cassell to the Kings for cash considerations and a very heavily protected second round pick. There are lots of opinions as to what this means for both franchises.

The general consensus among Celtics fans is that this is a move to open up a roster space to sign a free agent whether it be Stephon Marbury, Robert Horry, or PJ Brown (in spite of his insistence otherwise). It isn't as clear as to what the Kings get out of the deal in that they basically give up nothing since they get the cash to cover Sam's salary and will likely waive him anyway and the second round pick is heavily protected so it doesn't figure in to the Celtics' plans. If Sam is waived by the Kings I wouldn't be surprised to see the Celtics sign him as an assistant coach for the rest of the season.

There are rumors of the Maloofs being cash strapped both in their personal dealings and with the Kings. This may simply be a move to save some cash or it may be payback for a favor Danny did for them, or it may be the precursor to another deal to come where they have to have salaries to match up in the deal. One thing is fairly certain, there is more to this trade than just the trade of a player to help the team.

Here are some reactions from the Kings boards:

No big deal. It's no secret the Maloofs are trying to cut payroll. They're getting an expiring contract and cash back. I don't think there's anything more to it...

Celtics paid for an open roster spot. Although... is it horrible to think that Cassell could actually be our starting pg?

If it enables the Celtics to get Marbury, and Marbury helps the Celtics beat the Lakers, then it is all right by me.

Poor Sam...from the best team in the league to the worst team in the league... haha...

Maybe Beno is gonna be moved (Good news for the Kings)
Maybe the Celtics are getting ready for Marbury (Irrelevant news for the Kings)
Maybe the Kings can't find trade partners anymore(Bad news for the Kings)
Maybe the Kings front office are just plain dumb! (Not news anymore)

Sam might be worth a little more then we think, he knows the Celts system. Their stregnths and weaknesses, and hes a vet guard with championship exp... I'm thinking/hoping he is part of a bigger trade for us.

Start Cassell! I would seriously start an old Sam Cassell over this crappy Beno Udrih.

Hopefully, this leads to something better. But can it be possible if this is a three team deal? I just don't make too much sense if this is plainly a Sac-Boston deal.

Egads -- so we are now again one of those bottomfeeding teams that sells its assets for operating money huh? Wonderful. But yeah, upside is maybe its protection in a planned Beno trade. We'll know within 48 hours or so.

maybe it is Geoff's attempt to import a "winning mentality" (guy has three rings), even though said winning mentality has just as often been a cancer when he's not happy, and I can only imagine him being not so happy about losing out on another ring so he can come to the worst team in the league. Should also be noted that Sam's "winning mentality" never involved defense, which is of course the very worst thing we do, and what ismost desperately in need of an upgrade.

Sam has coaching aspirations -- longest of long shots, could we be importing our next coach in training? I always assumed he would have to do the assistant coaching rounds, but...?

This trade isn;t for the Kings. this is Petrie doing a favor for the Celts. Building good graces for potential future deals.
This deal -
1) Gets the Celts under the lux tax
2) Creates a roster spot for the Celts
3) the pick will NEVER switch hands as it is HEAVILY protected
4) the 500,000 dollars will off-set the remaining 2 months of Cassell's salary while having a some surplus for the Kings.
This is more gaining good karma for the Kings with a couple bucks. But this was the Celtics approaching the Kings to do them a favor and since it doesn't hurt the Kings they said sure.

If we buy out E.T. like I think we will, this deal will basically come down to the Kings selling a future 2nd round pick!
If E.T. suits up and plays for the Kings, then I think Beno is on the way out and Cassell helps Bobby Brown excel!

I'm sorry but when does Petrie get fired?Now we have Alien and Preda-Moore on our team...all we need now is sign Sigourney Weaver to balance it out

Here is some reaction from the Celtics' boards:

the trade is w/e really, it will help the celts get someone later on for the playoffs, and the kings won't really get much *not that it matters for them* but he is stil better than BENO lol even if he is liek 126 years old in basketball years

strange move.....maybe this is a sign Marbury is getting bought out.

I really hope the lakers, cavs etc dont make a play for Sam if he does get waived, not necissarily because of his play, but he would know the celtics inside and out by know.. especially Rondo

Wow this is big...
Surely he wouldn't be freeing up a roster spot for nothing? I'm disappointed Cassell won't be on our bench anymore. I think he really helped out the team mentally.

He will probably be waived by Sacramento and I imagine he will like to go back to Boston as an assistant coach.

The 2nd round pick is heavily protected. We will never get it.
SAC made the trade to get some cash, we made it to open up a roster spot...

The part that isn't reported is that the Kings gave up a wink and a nod, and received a big, fat, "You Owe Us" from the Celtics.

I wonder if the C's are trying to get involved in a three way deal of some sort to pick up a vet. They could be muscling into a 2-way deal by agreeing to take some salary or kick in the $3 million allowed. That would greatly expand the options for trades, as our bilateral trade scenarios seem limited.

If we waived Sam and nobody picked him off waivers his salary would still count against the cap. This way we got rid of his salary, saved some money and opened up a roster spot...

While Sam is making around $1.2 million, the team is only paying him $797,581; the league subsidizes the rest for veteran salaries.
The team is through 63.4% of its schedule, and Sam has earned that amount of his salary. That means he's owed approximately $291,798 for the rest of the season by whatever team is paying him.
So, in the case, a $500,000 cash payment gives the Kings over $200,000 in their pocket, plus whatever additional savings they can get by buying Sam out. The Celtics, on the other hand, save the $291,788 owed to Sam, plus luxury tax on the *entire* $797,581. That means the team is paying $500,000 to save $1,089,369. It's my understanding that if the team signs another player to the veteran minimum, they only have to pay luxury tax on the pro-rated salary of that player.

Here’s where things get interesting. If the team was planning on bringing Sam back, financially this may make sense. If Sam stayed on the team the entire season, the Celts would have owed him roughly $1.6 million in salary plus luxury tax. If he comes back with roughly 20 games left, (and if and only if the league treated Sam like any other minimum-salaried player) the team would only owe him approximately $389,000 in salary plus luxury tax: ($797,581 * 20/82s, doubled). Thus, if their plan is to only have Sam play a limited number of games prior to the playoffs, this trade would allow them to do so, while getting them approximately $205,000 in savings after paying Sacramento off ($1.6 million combined salary pre-trade – $505,666 paid salary to date – $389,000 current luxury tax – $500,000 to Sacramento = $205,334). This assumes that the league treats Sam as any other minimum salaried player the team adds for the stretch run, rather than viewing this as a means of circumventing the salary cap.

Who's going to be the 7th coach now?

Freeing up a roster spot. it wouldn't suprise me to a package centered around Powe or Baby Very soon

Everyone say thank you to Sam Cassell, because like Devean George being able to nix the Jason Kidd trade, Sam had to agree to this trade

So, what I take from this is that Cassell was basically resigned with the understanding that it's an internship-like deal toward coaching. All this trade means is the internship with Boston concluded. His salary was to be used toward housing expenses, for meals, his own cleaning of all uniforms and basketball supplies like socks, sneakers, wristbands or headbands, for paying his own way with the team for road games and other personal needs. This is a new program began this season by the Boston Celtics for players near retirement inspiring to gain a position of future employment in the field of NBA head coach or assistant coach.

Sam's stat line for the year:
GP: 0
PTS: 0
AST: 0
STL: 0
T's: 2

Sam will not play as a back up pg for any team this year. PG is the hardest position and he has not left the bench all year. He is, by all accounts a good locker room guy and a mentor for young players. His value is in that role, not as a player.Good move by Danny.

One other consideration: the trade creates a trade exception equal to Sam's salary, that the Celtics can use to bring in another player without sending out salary. This exception lasts for a calendar year.
For instance, the Celtics could trade a future draft pick this week to a team looking to cut salary. Obviously, this would nullify any payroll gains from the Cassell trade--but as others have said, those gains aren't as important as a title for the Celtics.

Trust me, we haven't seen the last of Sam Cassell. He will be back to the Celtics in some form. Maybe he will take Lucky's spot for the rest of the year

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