Bill Simmons' links this week include a piece he wrote in April '06. Most of what he says about Sam Cassell is quoted below. I know Sam won't be there tonight, and P.J. Brown won't play, but I'm psyched through the roof for tonight's game against Detroit.
Say what you want about Elgin Baylor (and I have), but the longtime Clippers GM swung the single most important trade of the summer: a sign-and-trade where Minnesota ended up with the incompetent Jaric and the Clips ended up with a No. 1 pick and Sam Cassell. It was a calculated gamble for a team that desperately needed leadership, experience, someone who wasn't afraid to take big shots, and someone who looked like E.T. Sure, Sam is a little crazy (or so they said), and he wore out his welcome a few times, but what's more reliable than a good player trying to prove himself in a contract year? In the words of Val Kilmer in "Heat," the bank was worth the risk.
Sensing one final chance at a big payday, as well as an opportunity to define his career, Sam grabbed the steering wheel from day one. He shouted to everyone that things were changing, that the Clippers wouldn't be pushovers anymore. He started working on Brand, telling him over and over again that Brand was their horse, that he needed to carry them, that they would only go as far as he took them. During the team's first official practice, when they were scrimmaging full-court, Mike Dunleavy stopped the proceedings for a water break. Everyone went to get a drink except Cassell and Mobley, who remained on the court to shoot free throws together. The next time, it happened again. And the next time. They never said a word, just kept shooting those free throws. Within a few days, nobody was getting water during water breaks; everyone remained on the court.
See, it's the little things with Sam. We always hear the whole "This guy's a winner, he's teaching them to win" refrain with sports, but I watched it actually happen with Sam and the Clippers -- little by little, game by game, week by week, month by month. Baby steps. Almost like watching my little daughter. From the first game in Seattle, Sam made this team his own, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a couple of dagger threes, followed by Sam skipping around the court doing his "I have giant testicles!" dance, then screaming in the postgame interview, "I told you! I told you this was a different team! This ain't the same old Clippers anymore!"
That Seattle game set the tone for the season: Sam casting his shadow over everyone and everything. There's nobody in the league quite like him. He knows everyone on every team, every referee, every coach ... he's like the old guy in the sports movie who shows up at the playground and starts jawing at everyone, only everyone starts smiling because they know it's finally time to start playing some ball. He's constantly working the crowd, the officials, even other players. He's always up to something. During one game against Minnesota, Sam found himself fighting for a loose ball with KG -- whose intensity during games is almost bordering on homicidal at this point -- and it seemed like KG was going to punch this Random Clipper Who Dared To Battle Him. Then he realized it was Sam and kissed him on the forehead.
I always believed Sam was underrated in the past, but now I'm starting to wonder if he was the most overlooked good player of the past 15 years. The proverbial raps on Sam: head case, complains too much, bitter about being underpaid, can't guard anyone. Maybe there was some truth to all of those things, especially last season in Minnesota. But this was also a guy who won two rings in Houston with Hakeem (making some huge shots for Rockets, by the way), then happened to lead FOUR OTHER TEAMS that just "randomly" came together while he was there. Two went from the lottery to the playoffs (the '97 Nets and '06 Clips), the other two made the conference finals (the '00 Bucks and '04 Timberwolves).
Can we still call it a coincidence after the recent Clippers resurgence? Probably not. Some guys just know how to win. It's in their blood.
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