Celtics Newcomer Bringing This ‘Voice’ To Championship Pursuit

Sam Cassell only played in 38 games as a member of the Celtics, with more than half of those contests coming in the postseason.

He knows what it takes to win in Boston, however.

Those games would wind up being the last of his 15-year NBA career, in which he capped things off with a win in the 2008 NBA Finals. That feeling of lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy is something Cassell is looking to experience for the fourth time overall, but the first time as a coach.

How can Cassell get back to the mountaintop now that he's back with the Celtics? He's got a plan.

"My voice will be, 'Hey guys, this is a golden opportunity for us.' It ain't easy," Cassell said, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. "I know how it feels to win a championship in Boston. It will make any player, everybody in that organization who was a part of winning a championship -- it's life-changing."

The 53-year-old has spent the majority of his post-playing career building up his coaching resume, spending five seasons with the Washington Wizards, six seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers and three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. In coming back to the Celtics, the goal is simple for Cassell.

"It's okay to scream and yell, but we have to have the same common goal -- and that common goal is to bring Banner 18," Cassell said, per Terada. "That's the only goal. It isn't getting to the conference finals as a member of the coaching staff and players. I'm talking about winning the championship. That's the tradition in Boston: Winning the championship."