Why isn't former Rockets guard Sam Cassell already a head coach?

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has never been shy about defending one of his city’s most famous basketball sons. When he sat down again with NBA Insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on #WORDSWITHSCOOP, the conversation quickly returned to the topic that made their first interview go viral: why Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell still has not been handed the keys to an NBA team of his own.

A Familiar Question, Two Years Later

In July 2024, Scott made headlines when he told Robinson that Cassell deserved a head coaching job more than any assistant in the league. He backed it up with a jab at the Los Angeles Lakers’ hire of JJ Redick, noting that Cassell had four championship rings while Redick’s only ring was his wedding band. The line spread across social media, and turned a mayor’s sports talk into a national story.

Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell is deserving of a head coaching job in the NBA because he has the Championship pedigree says Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott.

“He has four rings. JJ [Redick] has one and that’s with his wife.” https://t.co/rD2PoHALgD pic.twitter.com/6O6volh8OR
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) July 15, 2024

More than two years later, Robinson picked up right where they left off. He pointed out that Cassell had won a title in Boston as an assistant under Joe Mazzulla yet remained in that same assistant’s chair. Then he asked the Baltimore native how much it frustrated him to see Cassell overlooked for the top jobs again and again.

“It’s Not Just Sam”

Scott did not hesitate. “It is very frustrating, but it’s not just Sam,” he said. The mayor widened the lens, arguing that many talented assistants in both the NBA and the NFL get passed over, and that Black coaches in particular are too often left waiting while others leap ahead.

For Scott, Cassell’s situation is not an isolated snub but part of a pattern he sees across professional sports.

Cassell’s Résumé Keeps Growing

Scott’s frustration is rooted in a résumé that is hard to argue with. Cassell, who grew up in Baltimore, won three championships as a player with the Houston Rockets and the Celtics before beginning his coaching career in 2009. He has since worked on the benches of the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, and, since 2023, the Celtics, where he helped Boston capture the 2024 title.

Mazzulla even handed Cassell the reins for a preseason game this fall. Yet when head coaching vacancies opened during the most recent hiring cycle, Cassell’s name was not among the reported finalists.

The Bigger Picture

For Mayor Scott, the issue is about more than one coach from Baltimore. It is about who gets opportunities, who gets the benefit of the doubt, and who is asked to keep proving himself long after the proof is in. Cassell has championship credentials as a player and a coach, the respect of his peers and more than 15 years of experience on NBA benches.

Whether a front office finally agrees remains to be seen. But if the mayor has his way, Sam Cassell’s wait for a head coaching job will not last much longer.

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