Sixers assistant Sam Cassell is interviewing for the Utah Jazz head coaching job

Sam Cassell is being mentioned as a candidate for the Utah Jazz’s vacant head coaching job.

The 76ers assistant coach is familiar with Jazz CEO Danny Ainge from his final NBA season as a player. Cassell played on the Boston Celtics during the 2007-08 season. Boston won the NBA title that season with Cassell as a role player, Ainge as general manager, and current Sixers coach Doc Rivers as head coach.

The Athletic reported that Cassell will interview for the Jazz job that was vacated by Quin Snyder, who stepped down on June 5 after eight seasons as the team’s coach.

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Cassell, 52, has been with the Sixers for the last two seasons. He’s worked closely with James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and former Sixers star Ben Simmons.

Cassell, who played 15 seasons, also won back-to-back titles with the Houston Rockets in 1993-94 and 1994-95, his first two NBA campaigns.

He got into coaching after winning the title with the Celtics. Cassell joined the Washington Wizards’ coaching staff on May 21, 2009. While in Washington, he was credited with developing John Wall into one of the league’s elite guards.

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After five seasons with the Wizards, Cassell reunited with Rivers on the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant. He then followed Rivers to Philadelphia after the coach was hired in 2020.

It’s finally official. The 76ers will select No. 23 in the 2022 NBA draft, picking in the latter half of the first-round, which is a position they are familiar with. Sixers star Tyrese Maxey, defensive stalwart Matisse Thybulle and backup guard Furkan Korkmaz were all chosen in that part of the draft. The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell and Keith Pompey will discuss potential picks for the Sixers and touch on a big offseason to follow.