Chris Paul says he learned an important lesson from Sam Cassell

Chris Paul said during Clippers media day Monday that he’s glad that Sam Cassell was hired as an assistant coach.

In fact, the current Clippers point guard said that he’s already learned a lot from the former NBA player.

“I actually talk about him at my camp every summer because Sam used to do a pump fake, he used to dribble at you slow motion then pump fake,” Paul said. “I think my first time playing against him, I got three fouls. That’s when I realized I wasn’t a shot blocker. I don’t go for pump fakes anymore, and I always tell Sam that he’s the reason.”

The Clippers announced Monday that they hired Cassell, along with Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson, as assistant coaches on Doc Rivers’ staff. They join current assistant coaches Armond Hill and Brendan O’Connor, as well as assistant player skills coaches JP Clark and Dave Severns, on the bench.

Cassell, 44, was an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards the last five seasons. During his 15 years in the NBA, he had a career average of 15.7 points, 6.0 assists and 3.2 rebounds over 993 games. He also won three NBA championships (Houston 1993-94, Houston 1994-95, Boston 2007-08).

Twitter: @melissarohlin