According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, assistant coach Sam Cassell will leave the Clippers to join Doc Rivers’ staff with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Cassell was a member of Rivers’ staff with the Clippers, but with Rivers’ firing last month and the high-profile additions made to new head coach Ty Lue’s staff, it makes a lot of sense for Cassell to follow Rivers to Philadelphia.
During his long playing career, Sam spent almost three seasons with the Clippers, including starting for the team on their 2006 playoff run. After leaving the team, Cassell signed with the Boston Celtics and won the 2008 NBA Championship playing for Doc Rivers.
Cassell quickly entered coaching after retiring from playing, spending five years under Flip Saunders with the Washington Wizards before joining Doc Rivers in Los Angeles in 2014. He’s spent the last six years as an assistant with the Clippers.
This summer, Sam was linked with several head coaching vacancies around the NBA, most notably being seen as a candidate for the Houston Rockets’ opening and interviewing for the possibility of a promotion with the Clippers. When Ty Lue landed the Clippers job, Cassell seemed like a possibility to remain on staff, but the high-profile addition of Miami Heat assistant Dan Craig and the rumored negotiations with former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, longtime NBA head and assistant coach Larry Drew (who was Lue’s top assistant in Cleveland), and former NBA Finals MVP point guard Chauncey Billups, it began to appear likely that Cassell could end up on the outside looking in.
While it’s probably safe to assume that Kawhi Leonard’s longtime coach Jeremy Castleberry will remain on staff, we’ll have to wait and see if the rest of the team’s coaches stay or depart, including former Agua Caliente Clippers coach Casey Hill, longtime Doc Rivers assistant Armond Hill, defensive coordinator Rex Kalamian, and longtime assistants in Brendan O’Connor and John Welch.
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