Sam Cassell, a longtime Clippers assistant coach under Doc Rivers, will be joining Rivers in Philadelphia, becoming part of the Sixers‘ staff, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
A former NBA player who won two titles with the Rockets and a third with the Celtics, Cassell transitioned into coaching after he retired in 2009. He spent five seasons on the Wizards’ staff as an assistant and has worked since 2014 under Rivers in Los Angeles.
Rivers endorsed his longtime assistant as a deserving NBA head-coaching candidate last month before he parted ways with the Clippers. Cassell reportedly interviewed to replace Rivers in L.A. and drew some interest from Houston, but the expectation was that he’d continue to work on Rivers’ staff if he didn’t get a head coaching job, per Pompey.
Meanwhile, the 76ers are also hiring veteran Pacers assistant Dan Burke, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
Burke, who began his career with the Trail Blazers, has been a fixture in Indiana for over two decades, having served as a Pacers assistant under six different head coaches, dating back to Larry Bird‘s days on the sidelines. As Bontemps notes, Burke is highly respected around the NBA and is known for his defensive acumen.
Cassell and Burke will be joining a growing Sixers staff that will also reportedly feature former Kings and Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger.
Rivers’ group is also expected to include former Clippers video coordinator Pete Dominguez, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic, who tweets that Dominguez earned a promotion to the bench after impressing Rivers and the Clips in multiple roles in recent years.
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