he'd be Sam Cassell. Cassell has gone into teams that have been underacheiving or were just bad situations. Every team he's gone to he's made them better and they've overachieved. This year, he's gonna do it for the Clippers and is gonna probably gonna get the contract he's looking for. I'm pretty sure a franchise like the Clippers would be GREATFUL for a player that can finally get them back to the playoffs after that looooong drought. IMO Kevin McHale ****ed up in not giving Cassell his contract. Sam has proven over the years that he's worth it and he helped take the Timberwolves past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in their history. So now the franchise that Garnett + Spree + Cassell helped build has crumbled and there isn't much to look forward to. The Timberwolves are gonna really be hurting from the mistakes they made.
Proofs in the pudding, but the problem is that everyone around him gets all the credit.....when he came to Jersey in the middle of 96-97', we where horrible rolls were not defined, Kendall Gill had way to much control of the team. But as soon as he got here you could see the change in attitudes. The r4esults didnt show that year because we were to far gone, when the trade with Dallas..but the feeling was their that we had a much more advanced floor leader then Kalid Reeves. So the 97-98' season comes..and we draft Keith Van Horn. And now granted all the hype is understandable..the league was looking for a star that more reseambled the fans in the stands. But he got all the credit for the turn around the Nets made..when realistically, the reason why the Nets made the turnaround was because it was Sammy's first full season with the team. He made Van Horn the type of player he was his rookie year....because he simplified the game for Van Horn. Van Horn did not have to be a creator when he played with Sam...Sammy put him in position to be effective without having to put the ball on the floor, parts of Van Horn's game that wasnt his strenght. Van Horn was asked who was the best guard he played with that most help his game in this league..and he said Sammy...and this is a guy who has played with some of the most celebrated guards over the past 7 or 8 years Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Steph Marbury. Heck basically,Jayson Williams got 55 million off that year and a half he played with Sammy...because 96-97 and 97-98 where by far his two career years. Yet he didnt even make the all-star team in 98' despite averaging about 20 and 8, Penny Hardaway who didnt even step on the court the first half that year went to the all-star game Anyway fast forward to Milwuakee Bucks...Cassell was always looked at as the third member of the big three. But truth be told they never made the playoff before he got their..everyone calls it the arrival of George Karl...I can accept that. But think about it the Bucks couldnt make the playoffs with Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Terrell Brandon(who was an all-star twice before), it had more to do with just a coaching situation. As good as Brandon was leadership wise...he didnt have that championship leadership, it has a different feel to it then just your regular floor leadership. After Cassell took over at the point the Bucks go to the playoffs 3 of 4 years...make the East finals and the only year they dont make the playoffs, is the year where Cassell misses 8 games late in the season. And that team was .500, missed the playoffs by a game. Cassell was among the best point guards in scoring and assist every single year then except for the year where he played off the ball after the Gary Payton/Ray Allen trade..but Cassell never made the all-star game once...but Ray Allen , seemgly went every year. And big dog went twice, I think. Anyway, Minny was really the only spot that Cassell went to that was already a playoff team. But they were still average they just had a great player to shoulder the load to get them to the first round. But soon as Sammy got their the feel of the team changed. And they end up having the best season in franchise history. Everybody says that KG made Cassell an all-star. And in some ways I agree and laugh at the same time. Yes, KG made Cassell an all-star because never played on a team or with a player that allowed him to get national exposure since he played with Hakeem, as a role player. But when he was a team leader, the Bucks nor Nets had alot of NBA coverage around their teams until the playoffs. But regular season wise you would never really see either on TNT or NBC. KG star power brought the TNT games, the ABC/ESPN games. So people finally got to see what Cassell brought to the table. But skill/on-court wise Cassell was a all-star way before Garnett. Cassell did more to make KG a legit MVP then KG did to make Cassell an all-star on court. Ask your self how many MVP's there have been in recent years, who teams only won between 45-50 games per year. I can answer the question for you none..even Iverson's won 56 or 57 games the year he won the MVP. The league doesnt name MVP's on teams that only win 45-50 games per year....its a unwritten # of about 55. So KG wasnt an MVP candiate before 03' cause honestly his teams were solid but not the caliber of what a MVP should have... Anyway, so now we have arrived at the Clippers and all the talk was about the addition of Mobley because was probably the biggest free agent signee they have had in recent years. The Cassell deal went very low key...but he is the one that is bringing the attutide and leadership to win. Mobley hasnt ever won anything..dont get me wrong I like Mobley but truthfully speaking. Everybody talking about Brand is better because he is slimmer...and yes that is true....but he is also better because he never had chemistry with a point guard the way he has with Cassell. And they are just getting started..but loook how effective they are in the pick & roll. Cassell knows how to get bigs the rock in position to be effective. And in my opinion bigman are only as strong as the guard getting them the ball. Period. Casell is never going to get the credit he deserves because nobody ever can define a moment/year when he was consider the best at his position. But if you take into account consistency and effect on teams...Sammy has easily been one of the best since the early 90's. Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, Jason Kidd, Rod Strickland, Kevin Johnson and Sammy, also maybe Mark Jackson imo...where the most consistent and effective since then. Penny Hardaway was probably the most talented point guard since the early 90's..but well we all know that story. And Iam talking about guys that came into the league around the 90's so dont think Iam leaving out legends like Zeke and Stockton. Those two are on a different level anyway.
