David Lee was a member of the Golden State Warriors championship team last season and actually contributed a lot in the NBA Finals. After that run was over, Lee quickly realized that he wasn't in the Warriors future plans and needed to go elsewhere if he was going to find playing time.
Lee and the Warriors worked together to find a trade partner, and he eventually ended up with the Boston Celtics. When Lee was first acquired, head coach Brad Stevens said that he was planning to run his offense through him, so he was clearly expected to be a big factor. It didn't take long, though, for Lee to have his playing time diminished and eventually disappear altogether.
The Celtics have an extremely deep frontcourt, so somebody had to be out of the rotation. It makes sense that it was Lee because he isn't exactly good on defense, and that's where the Celtics wanted to to be strongest. However, Lee thinks that he lost his playing time because he didn't show up for this season in the best shape.
"I came in, I wasn't in shape, I didn't play my best and lost my job," Lee said. "All that did was make me ask, 'What do I not have that I had before?' I wasn't in as good of shape."
The Celtics and Lee eventually agreed to a buyout so that he could seek another opportunity to get minutes. After he was released, the 32-year-old forward made it clear that he valued playing time over winning with his next team, and he went to the Dallas Mavericks. Lee is set to become a free agent next year and wants to increase his value for his next contract, so getting minutes is the best way to do that. In 14 games since joining the Mavericks, Lee has done just that, as he is averaging 10.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in less than 20 minutes per game.
Not only is Lee producing, but he is happy in Dallas, which means a lot. It is unclear if the Mavericks will look to bring back Lee for next season, but he is certainly making a good impression in his short time there so far. Things unfortunately did not work out for Lee in his time in Boston, but it was a reminder that he needs to work for everything and earn his minutes, and that lesson should be helpful for him moving forward.
