Coming into this season the Boston Celtics knew they had an incredibly deep team, and because of that, some very deserving players would not get a lot of minutes. David Lee started on Monday night for Boston and played pretty well, but for the most part he has been playing very limited minutes after being acquired by the Celtics in the offseason. With Lee's role not as big as expected, the Celtics have reportedly made him available in trade talks, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com.
Lee was a member of the Golden State Warriors for the past five seasons and won a championship there last season, but he and the Warriors mutually decided to look for a trade this offseason so Lee could get more playing time as he had fallen out of the rotation with the Warriors. The Celtics traded for him, and it looked like he would be a starter in the frontcourt as Brad Stevens hoped to run the offense through Lee, but he has only started four games so far. Lee has appeared in all but two games this season (he missed those due to injury), but he is only averaging 15.8 minutes per game which is not exactly what he was hoping for.
With Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson and Kelly Olynyk having emerged as the go-to frontcourt guys for Boston, they have reportedly made Lee and his expiring contract available for trades, and he might garner some interest. Lee is on the books for about $15.5 million this season, but he will become a free agent at season's end, so that expiring contract will likely help his trade value. But he has also been productive when he has been on the court, so there may be a team with a need in the frontcourt that will see Lee as a potential option.
The Celtics likely won't be asking teams to break the bank in a trade for Lee, but they are wise to at least see what they might be able to get for him. What the Celtics really need is a star or go-to scoring threat, but Lee himself will not bring that back for them, so unless they package Lee with younger players and draft picks, they are likely looking at a lower-level deal should they find a team that is interested in acquiring the 32-year-old forward.
