Where Will Sam Cassell Be Playing in May?

In fourteen season in the NBA, Sam Cassell has played in the playoffs ten times. Although at this point in his career, he can only be expected to play twenty minutes a night, he has great value to a team looking to add another piece for a playoff run. Unfortunately, his current team, the Clippers, are ten games under .500 right now and it appears that they will not be participating in the playoffs in the 2007-08 season.

With a favorable contract of $6,150,000 this season, the Clippers will likely look to move him to a contender in order to pick up some more assets that can be beneficial as the reload. Cassell's contract expires after this season, which may likely be his final year in the NBA.

Five teams currently in competition to make the playoffs could certainly use Cassell. Here is a look at those five ranked by how the need of Cassell and the likelihood of a trade working out:

1.) Orlando Magic
With only Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling available behind Jameer Nelson, the Magic could desperately use some backcourt punch. This trade is likely because the Magic currently have a handful of players with expiring contracts, plus young players that the Clippers may want to take a look at. An exchange of Cassell for Pat Garrity ($3,818,750), James Augustine ($687,456), and J.J. Redick ($2,000,160) would allow the trade to work. At the end of this season, Redick's contract has a team option, so the Clippers would get a good look at him before deciding whether to bring him back or not. Garrity likely would be released when this trade would be made.

2.) Golden State Warriors
With Troy Hudson likely out for the season, Don Nelson and the Warriors need a backup point guard to Baron Davis. With trade exceptions, multiple expiring contracts, and a collection of underused young players, the Warriors would have several ways to go about acquiring Cassell.

3.) Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta is a team that has missed a quality, veteran point guard going back to the days of Mookie Blaylock. Though they may not have the experience to advance in the playoffs this season, they still should make a push for Cassell. A swap of Tyronn Lue ($3,500,000), Lorenzen Wright ($3,250,000) and either Salim Stoudamire ($783,000) or a future draft pick would allow the Hawks to bring in the veteran point guard. Unlike with the teams previously mentioned, Cassell would likely get the chance to start at point guard over incumbents Anthony Johnson, Acie Law, and Speedy Claxton.

4.) Los Angeles Lakers
A trade for Cassell would make a great deal of sense for the Lakers. With young players such as Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Javaris Crittenton playing behind starting point guard Derek Fisher, Cassell would bring a veteran prescence of the bench that is currently not there. The difficulty with this trade is that it would take some creativeness for it to work. Chris Mihm ($2,500,000) and Sasha Vujacic ($1,756,951) are the two most likely players the Lakers would include in a trade whose contracts expire at year end. However, Kwame Brown ($9,075,000) would also be a contestant to move to the Clippers in a trade netting Cassell. Brown has battled injury all year and appears to have completely fallen out of favor with the team. Adding Cassell to a group of smalls that include Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Farmar, and Trevor Ariza would make sense for the Lakers in their playoff pursuit.

5.) New Orleans Hornets
The Hornets are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Led by the league's best young point guard in Chris Paul, the Hornets are an exciting team that could give anyone a tough run in the postseason. Beyond Chris Paul, Bobby Jackson, and Morris Peterson, the Hornets are very thin at the guard spots. The Hornets could put together a package of expiring contracts (Ryan Bowen, Melvin Ely, Bernard Robinson, Marcus Vinicius) or inexpensive young players (Adam Haluska, Hilton Armstrong) to acquire Cassell. He certainly would bring a big-shot type player to the squad.

Ranking the Remaining Free Agents

With Matt Barnes recently resigning with the Golden State Warriors, one of the last available productive free agents was taken off the market. The remaining free agents can be split into three groups: veterans able to produce now (Varejo, Bell, Brown), young guys with potential (Pavlovic, Pietrus, Adams), and of course, aging veterans (Webber, Mutombo, Rose).

Here are my rankings of the top twenty remaining free agents based on desireability to teams:

1.) Anderson Varejo
2.) Charlie Bell
3.) Sasha Pavlovic
4.) Chris Webber
5.) Mickael Pietrus
6.) P.J. Brown
7.) Ruben Patterson
8.) Earl Boykins
9.) Corliss Williamson
10.) Brian Skinner
11.) James Posey
12.) Melvin Ely
13.) Dikembe Mutombo
14.) Troy Hudson
15.) Hassan Adams
16.) James White
17.) Jalen Rose
18.) Dee Brown
19.) Jeff McInnis
20.) Danny Fortson

Others include: Jumaine Jones, Gary Payton, Marc Jackson, Derek Anderson, Alexander Johnson, Yaroslav Korolev, C.J. Miles.

Boston, Detroit, New Jersey, Miami, Washington, Cleveland are the teams most likely to sign some of these players above. Boston is still looking to add one more perimeter player with Reggie Miller being mentioned to come out of retirement. If the Celtics can persuade Posey or Adams to join the team, it would be a better choice than Miller.

Detroit should add one more big body upfront to put next to Rasheed Wallace. Returning Webber would be the most logical decision, but bringing in Brown would also be a good choice. New Jersey still is light in the post. A big body like Williamson or Fortson could help them in the long run. Miami has reportedly pursued Pietrus in the past, and this would be beneficial for their perimeter defense. It is more likely though, that they return Posey or Payton. The Wizards could still use some scoring off the bench. If they can afford Ruben Patterson, he would be a great fit. Cleveland will look to bring back Pavlovic and Varejo.