Recent praise for Celtics coach could foretell a future loss for Joe Mazzulla

The Boston Celtics were one of the most prominent teams in this year’s NBA GM Survey. Every season, NBA.com conducts a survey, asking all 30 executives around the league a variety of questions about the state of the league. And as the reigning champions, the Celtics were thoughts of highly by their peers.

Everyone from Jayson Tatum to Jrue Holiday received praise. GMs think the Celtics are destined for back-to-back titles, they believe Tatum is the best power forward in the league, and they regard Holiday as one of the league’s best leaders. But that’s not where the praise ended.

Sam Cassell was also a beneficiary, but that may lead to a future loss for Boston.

Could Sam Cassell be on the move next offseason?

Executives around the NBA view Cassell as the best assistant coach in the NBA. He and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori each received 17% of the vote for the question, topping the poll. However, that could mean they are destined for more.

Last preseason, Jordi Fernandez led the way in that category. Now, he’s the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. On top of that, Charles Lee and Kenny Atkinson each received some consideration, and they are now leading the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively.

The year before that, Lee and Atkinson tied for first place, and Adrian Griffin got third. He was (briefly) the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. Before that, Darvin Ham got a bunch of votes. Before that, Chris Finch, Jason Kidd, and Wes Unseld Jr. were in the Top 5.

And everyone else who won the vote or was in the Top 5 was either a head coach before or led the category for multiple seasons.

READ FEATURE STORY: THE ORIGINS OF LUKE KORNET THE COMEDIAN

For the past five seasons, almost every single coach who has topped the category in the NBA GM Survey has gone on to be a head coach in the next few seasons. Cassell may be next.

He joined the Celtics last summer as one of the team’s top assistants, and now that Lee is gone, he has been elevated to Joe Mazzulla’s associate head coach. Losing him would be a gut-wrenching loss for Mazzulla's coaching staff and the Celtics, especially considering his close relationship with Jayson Tatum.

Clearly, people around the NBA understand just how talented Cassell is, and teams could be fighting for his services next season.

He has championship experience as a player and a coachcc, and as one of the NBA’s best assistants, it may only be a matter of time before the Celtics lose him.