Sam Cassell

[RhymesWithHondo]

Hi gang

Trying to make some sense of the Cassell deal for my blog (I know it's barely a blip on the radar screen, but I'm Celtics-centric). I had a couple of questions, mainly stemming around why Boston didn't just cut him in the first place:

1)If a player is cut by a team during a season, can he return to that team during the season?
2)Cassell does not have a guaranteed deal, correct?

Thanks

RwH

[Three34]

1) Yes. But if (when) Cassell gets waived by the Kings, and he decides wants to re-sign with the Celtics as a player, then he'll have to wait 30 days after the date that he was traded before he can do it.
2) Yes he did. He always did, but even if he didn't, all contracts become guaranteed on January 10th.

[RhymesWithHondo]

Thanks, Sham. I knew that Cassell come back to the Celtics now that he's been traded. Just wondering if a team can cut a guy and then re-sign him - and if so, if they have to wait.

-RwH

[Three34]

If you cut someone yourself, you can re-sign them as soon as they clear waivers. Happens quite often. Has happened this season to Darius Miles, Jeremy Richardson and Jawad Williams, amongst others.

[Mer-man]

1)If a player is cut by a team during a season, can he return to that team during the season?

Yes, a player can be cut multiple times during a season, but this typically happens if they're given a non-guaranteed contract, and then they re-sign for 10-day contracts.

A lot of times teams will cut players RIGHT before the Jan. 10 deadline so that their contract doesn't get guaranteed. Then they can keep signing them to 10-day contracts after that.