Brad Stevens says Head Coach Joe Mazzulla will lead the charge when hiring a new member on the coaching staff, and they will pursue someone with a lot of NBA experience.
Brad Stevens is wasting no time adding more experience to the Boston Celtics' coaching staff.
Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach and former Celtics player Sam Cassell has agreed to join Boston's coaching staff under head coach Joe Mazzulla, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Sunday.
Cassell, 53, was Doc Rivers' lead assistant in Philadelphia for the past three seasons and has been an assistant coach since 2009, spending five seasons with the Washington Wizards and six seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers before joining the Sixers in 2020.
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Cassell also enjoyed a 15-year playing career that included three NBA championships, the last of which came as a member of the Celtics in 2007-08. The former point guard is one of the league's most widely-respected assistants and reportedly interviewed for the Houston Rockets' head coach job in April before Ime Udoka landed the role.
Cassell is a great hire for the Celtics, who didn't have a coach with significant NBA playing or head coach experience in 2022-23 after losing Damon Stoudamire in March. Mazzulla's is the league's youngest head coach at age 34 and should benefit greatly from the perspective of Cassell, who boasts championship experience and knows what it takes to win a title in Boston.
Stevens said last week the team would seek to hire at least one assistant with "a lot of NBA experience," and Cassell certainly fits that bill.
