Golden State Warriors big man David Lee, despite being the second-longest tenured player on the team and close friends with Steph Curry, has likely played his last game for the NBA champs.
League sources revealed to ESPN that the Warriors have privately confirmed to Lee and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, that it would not be fair to the former All-Star to remain with the team in such a limited role. Lee played the fewest minutes per game (18.4) this year since his rookie season and but did not complain or become an in-house distraction.
These sources told ESPN that both sides will work together to "come up with a good solution" to find Lee a new team this offseason. Lee, 32, lost his starting job to Draymond Green who enjoyed a breakout season and finished second behind Kawhi Leonard in Defensive Player of the Year voting. After returning from a hamstring injury, Lee's playing time was inconsistent at best during this fifth season of a six-year deal worth $80 million. He is scheduled to earn $15.4 million next season.
"It's been a really interesting year," Lee said in an interview on ESPN Radio after Game 1 of the Finals. "...I've actually gotten to see kind of the other side of the NBA. I've always been the guy that's out there for 35 to 40 minutes. I've never really, I don't think, had the true respect for guys...to see guys that don't get a chance to play very often and come out and produce on a consistent basis - I never knew how difficult that was.
"So it's really been a great learning experience for me this year. And while it's been frustrating as a competitor to not be in there as much as I want to be in there, it's been kind of cool to let go of my ego this year and say, 'Hey, this is about the team.'"
With the NBA draft coming next week, Lee could find himself with a new team sooner rather than later.
