Sam I Am a Hall of Famer

Here it is finally. After all these months of saying I’m going to write it, I’m finally getting it done. The timing is actually appropriate because Sam Cassell will shortly become very relevant again. Yesterday, the Clips finally gave in and waived Cassell, giving Sammy boy the golden opportunity to chase a championship with his buddy KG.

It’s a great time right now in the NBA, especially if you enjoy the point guard position. There has been an influx of young talent coming in over the past few years. The play of Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Tony Parker grab most of the headlines, and the Kidd for Harris swap has also gotten Devin’s name out there. But then there are guys like Mo Williams, Jose Calderon and Rajon Rondo who are on the cusp if not already arrived.

Add in the likes of Jordan Farmar, Mike Conley, Jameer Nelson, Beno Udrih, even Delonte West (who looks reinvigorated to be playing again) and the talent level around the league at the 1 has gone up considerably.

It’s also a great time because a lot of the old guard (excuse the pun) are still playing at a high level and are playing for playoff teams and legitimate championship contenders—Kidd, Nash, Baron and I’ll even throw into the mix Andre Miller (not on Kidd, Baron, or Nash’s level, but his importance to the Sixers is comparable).

You can now add Sammy to that list.

But this blog isn’t about the other point guards, it’s about one of my all time favorites. The man lovingly referred to as the Alien. The goal of today’s blog is to prove that Sam-I-Am should be added to another list—the Hall of Fame.

I did a piece on Gary Payton being in the top five point guards of all time. Right behind Magic, Oscar and Stock, and though there are still a whole host of people who do not nor ever will agree with that assessment, I continue to believe I made a solid case. I know my case for Sam Cassell is a bit weaker considering as a scoring point he never averaged more than 20 a game (got close 4 different seasons at 19.7) and never had a season as a double digit assist man.

Still, numbers can speak volumes if looked at in a different way.

These are the career PERs of, in my opinion, and with the backing of the PER, the top three point guards of all time. Most sane people would agree. In this order too: 

Magic Johnson: 24.11 (11^th all time) 

Oscar Robertson: 23.18 (20^th all time)

John Stockton: 21.83 (28^th all time)

Now, let’s compare those with a couple others who made the top 100 (and one hall of famer who didn’t), most are still playing or just retired (Payton) and two are in the hall already.

Steve Nash: 19.95 (65^th all time)

Sam Cassell: 19.67 (75^th all time)

Walt Frazier: 19.12 (86^th all time)

Gary Payton: 18.88 (96^th all time)

Jason Kidd: 18.86 (99^th all time)

Isaiah Thomas: 18.10 (not in top 100)

What name jumps out at you? Yup, my boy Sam I Am. Look at the guards Sammy is ahead of. 9 spots higher than Walt, 21 slots higher than G.P., 24 slots higher than Kidd. And Isaiah isn’t even in the top 100 despite being in the hall of fame.

Some may trash the PERs relevance, but it is a means at taking statistics and quantifying them. It’s not perfect and it’s by no means the end-all be-all, but it’s very useful in gauging players overall contributions on the floor. Of course, defense is not taken into account, but a lack of defense didn’t stop Nash from winning back-to-back MVPs, and it won’t hinder Nash getting into the hall and it shouldn’t stop Sammy either.

In my last blog I compared G.P. to Nash and Kidd and figured their prime 7 years then I compared Payton’s numbers to the holy triumvirate of Magic, Oscar and Stock, using 8 years. I’m not saying Cassell is on par with any of those 3. That would be foolish and misguided. If only Magic, Stock and Oscar were elected to the hall, then this whole argument is moot. But considering players with lesser careers have already been enshrined, it is only fair to make the case that Sammy is better than a lot of guys in the Hall and a lot of guys expected to be there in the near future.

Here are the respective 8-year prime career PERs of the above point guards.

GP: 22.12 (81.5 games per season)

Nash:  20.75 (74.75 games per season)

Sam: 20.71

Kidd: 20.0

Walt:  19.8

Zeke:  19.32

Then there are win shares. For a more in depth look at what a win share is, check http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/glossary.html#PW.

GP: 36.5   (best 40, 35, 35)

Nash: 27.75 (best seven seasons it’s 30) (best 37)

Kidd: 25.8   (best 30)

Sam:  25.4   (best 34)

Zeke: 24.375  (best 32)

If you add this season into Nash’s career win shares, his win shares jump to 30. Of course, guys like Isiah and Walt made their names in the playoffs—a great place to do so. Zeke averaged 20.4, 8.9, 4.5, 44% for his career in the playoffs. Walt averaged 20.7, 6.4, 7.2, on 51%.

But Sammy’s been there and done that in the playoffs too. He’s been doing the playoff thing since he was a rook. He averaged 9.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, and 4.2 apg coming off the bench in only 22 minutes of play for the Rockets during their first championship run. The following year, in the same amount of time, Sammy upped his scoring to 11 and maintained similar numbers in the other categories and as a result got his second ring.

He was traded to New Jersey two years later, helped that team make the playoffs with Kerry Kittles, Keith Van Horn and Kendall Gill as his sidekicks. The next season he was traded to Milwaukee. For two years the “Big Three” made the playoffs but lost in the first round. The next year, Cassell got Big Dog and Jesus out of the first round and into the Eastern Conference finals where they lost to AI’s Sixers in 7 games.

When he joined KG and Sprewell in the 03-04 season, it was his injury that allowed the Malone/Payton/Shaq/Kobe Lakers to advance to the finals over the T-Wolves. Cassell had been on fire before getting hurt. His injury probably cost KG his best shot at winning a title up until now. Although, his presence was one of the main reasons that KG had that shot in the first place.

When the brilliance that is McHale took on Marko Jaric and gave Cassell and a pick to the Clippers, Sammy did nothing but lead the previously woeful squad to within one game of the Western Conference finals.   

Every team that Cassell has been traded to except for his brief stints with Phoenix and Dallas, has done better and made it farther in the playoffs then they ever had before. He’s done it in the East and the West. With good teams and bad teams.

Sure, Kidd is more physically gifted then Cassell. If you were to put the two next to each other at their primes, Kidd’s natural athleticism and court vision would wow you (and did wow you) and would put him in a class above Cassell. But Sammy’s a winner plain and simple. He’s consistently hit big shots on the biggest of stages. He’s done the things that help teams win.

He talks to the refs. Maybe the best negotiator in the game. He fights for his teammates. He jaws at the opposition. He outsmarts, outthinks and outwits the opposing team. He’s a true floor coach. And he’s the consummate professional. In today’s league an aging vet can basically demand to be traded despite the fact that he is playing with two all star caliber players and is getting paid nearly $19 million.

Sam, making a little more than $6 million, never publicly asked for a buyout despite his desire to play for a contender. He never made any waves. Never stopped playing hard (though he had missed the previous four games due to injury) and continued to respect the organization that was paying him. He’s the last big piece to be moved in a trading season that saw the NBA’s biggest stars moved.

When it’s all said and done, he might just turn out to be the most important.

Sam Cassell for the Hall of Fame Pt. 2 coming soon.