Golden State Warriors Trade Veteran David Lee to the Boston Celtics
The Golden State Warriors have traded veteran David Lee to the Boston Celtics. The 2015 NBA Champions acquired Gerald Wallace.
Lee's agent, Mark Bartlestein, released this statement:
"They really like him. They pursued him for a long time. Bob Myers worked very hard with me to try and get David to a place he wanted to be. Boston is a great basketball town, great history with that franchise. It's an up and coming team. Everywhere David has been--Golden State, New York and now Boston--there has been a great basketball tradition. Every player wants to go where they can have a huge impact on a team's success."
Lee, who has been the subject of trade rumors, posted a picture of the Warriors on Instagram with a heartfelt message.
A photo posted by David Lee IG (@dlee042) on Jul 7, 2015 at 12:48pm PDT
Teammate Draymond Green, who resigned an extension worth $82 million with the Warriors, tweeted a thank you message to Lee.
The part of the business that sucks! Wish my big bro @Dlee042 nothing but the best and I appreciate you showing me the way Champ!!!Much love — Draymond Green (@Money23Green) July 7, 2015
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote back in February:
"For the Warriors to find a way to keep Green, they'll have to move David Lee and the $15 million owed him in the 2015-16 season."
During this past season, Lee took on a secondary role after being sidelined due to an injury. He played in 49 games and averaged 7.9 points and 5.2 rebounds during the regular season.
Adam Wells with Bleacher Report noted that Lee, a former All-Star, has a shot to reinvent himself with the growing Celtics team.
Wells wrote:
"Lee has a chance to reinvent himself, or at least return to the double-double threat he has been, while he's still young enough to be a productive player. With a good season, he could end up with one more long-term contract."
On the Warriors' front, they have until Aug. 1 to waive Wallace. Marc J. Spears with Yahoo! Sports reported, however, that the Warriors plan on keeping Wallace. They can stretch his contract, worth about $10 million, over three seasons and save big on taxes. They can also use his expiring contract as a trading chip during in a preseason or mid-season deal.
If Wallace stays put in Oakland, he is expected to take on a limited role off of the bench. He played in 32 games this past season and averaged 1.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
