GSW David lee - celtics proposed trade

[BornReady]

David lee will be traded from golden state warriors as they don't want to pay his 15 mil plus luxury tax they expect to accrue from keeping him next season

Also lee is still a good player but has notable deficiencies in his game which would make teams wary of picking him up such as defence, injury and his $15 mil price tag

Assuming no team is interested in trading for him
GSW would be forced to salary dump him
Which celtics can facilitate considering our large rondo trade exception

My proposed trade
Celtics trade Chris babb
Golden state trade David lee, 2015 #30pick

Celtics get David lee (a productive player albeit now in another crowded frontcourt situation) , another first rounder  and not sure but another large trade exception generated from difference in babb and lees contracts

Golden state get to remove lee and waive babb to have room to resign other players and not pay steep luxury tax

[Birdman]

Pass on Lee..age and injury concerns

[Eja117]

I don't think 15mill is the going rate for draft picks. Especially the last one in a round

[BitterJim]

The TPE isn't big enough to absorb Lee on its own, and it can't be aggregated with other players in order to match am incoming  player's salary, so this trade is impossible.

In order to add Lee, we would need to use a salary like Wallace's (ex: Wallace + nonguaranteeds for Lee, maybe sendmake it a three team deal where Wallace goes to a team lime the somers and GSW sends them the #30)

[Granath]

The TPE isn't big enough to absorb Lee on its own, and it can't be aggregated with other players in order to match am incoming  player's salary, so this trade is impossible.

In order to add Lee, we would need to use a salary like Wallace's (ex: Wallace + nonguaranteeds for Lee, maybe sendmake it a three team deal where Wallace goes to a team lime the somers and GSW sends them the #30)

TP. Some people here don't seem to understand how the trade exceptions work.

A deal involving Lee would have to include Wallace. Since the Cs can absorb Lee if they renounce the holds on their free agents, I don't think we need a 3rd team. So it might look like Lee & #30 for Wallacel, Babb & #45. But I'm not sure that's a good deal for the Celtics unless they trade KO or Sullinger in another deal (possibly to move up?). After all, why bring him in if there aren't any minutes to play him?

[Behaviorla]

This one works on the trade machine

Boston gets Lee, Festus Ezeli and #30
Golden State gets Babb, Pressey and cap room to  re-sign Draymond Green
Philly gets Wallace and #28

If we then could use some combination of Sully/Olynyk, AB and the #16 to ideally trade up to #4 with the Knicks, then we would be choosing between Porzingis or WCS

Otherwise use assets to make a run at Charlotte at 9

We end up with one year of Lee (at least until trade deadline), a solid,young and most importantly inexpensive backup center in Ezeli and either #4 or #9.

[celticsfan8591]

I wouldn't mind acquiring Lee to pick up a pick but we already have too many late firsts/seconds.  If we could work out a three way deal where a team in the late teens/early 20s gets 28, the Golden State pick, and gives us their pick, that might be something I'm interested in.  Maybe something like this?

GS gets our top 55 protected pick next year
We get #23, David Lee (absorbed with Rondo TPE)
Portland gets #28, #30

Golden State saves money, can re-sign Green
We move up in the draft
Portland moves down 5 slots and picks up an extra late first.  This makes sense for them because their bench last year was abysmal and if they re-sign Matthews and Aldridge they'll be capped out.  They also don't have a second round pick, so this is a way to add 2 bench players instead of 1.  Considering that they have stars in place and are looking to round out their bench, they'd likely benefit more from that than from adding one slightly better prospect.  This trade is obviously out the window if Aldridge leaves and maybe if Matthews leaves as well.

Edit: Just saw the post about trade exceptions.  So even if they're within 20% of the incoming salary they can't be used?  Even if they can't, we could still do this trade couldn't we, since we have cap space?  Granted, we'd be punting on signing a major free agent, but if we decide we don't have a shot it's worth looking into doing something like this.

[saltlover]

The TPE isn't big enough to absorb Lee on its own, and it can't be aggregated with other players in order to match am incoming  player's salary, so this trade is impossible.

In order to add Lee, we would need to use a salary like Wallace's (ex: Wallace + nonguaranteeds for Lee, maybe sendmake it a three team deal where Wallace goes to a team lime the somers and GSW sends them the #30)

TP. Some people here don't seem to understand how the trade exceptions work.

A deal involving Lee would have to include Wallace. Since the Cs can absorb Lee if they renounce the holds on their free agents, I don't think we need a 3rd team. So it might look like Lee & #30 for Wallacel, Babb & #45. But I'm not sure that's a good deal for the Celtics unless they trade KO or Sullinger in another deal (possibly to move up?). After all, why bring him in if there aren't any minutes to play him?

While this is completely true regarding trade exceptions, it's slightly different in this case.

The Warriors know they're dumping Lee.  In addition to the $15.5 million in salary they owe him, he'll add about $30 million to their luxury tax bill.  I'm sure the team is fine paying a small amount of the tax, but David Lee will cost them $45 million next year -- he's being moved.

Anyway, the Celtics also know they will have cap room to trade for Lee, no matter what (because the cap holds for everyone but Crowder are completely ignorable).  While the trade wouldn't be official, the two teams could certainly come to an agreement on draft night, such that the Celtics told the Warriors who to pick at #30, and that player would become a Celtic on July 9th when the July moratorium ends, and conveniently when summer league starts.

I don't think the Celtics are getting enough in return to forego free agency options for a year, especially with picks 28 and 33 already in hand, but while the official mechanics are not well spelled out in the OP, in effect such a deal could happen exactly as described.

I should note for the OP that the trade exception generated by the deal would go to Golden State, and not the Celtics.

[JohnBoy65]

This one works on the trade machine

Boston gets Lee, Festus Ezeli and #30
Golden State gets Babb, Pressey and cap room to  re-sign Draymond Green
Philly gets Wallace and #28

If we then could use some combination of Sully/Olynyk, AB and the #16 to ideally trade up to #4 with the Knicks, then we would be choosing between Porzingis or WCS

Otherwise use assets to make a run at Charlotte at 9

We end up with one year of Lee (at least until trade deadline), a solid,young and most importantly inexpensive backup center in Ezeli and either #4 or #9.

So we're giving up: Wallace, Babb, Pressey and 28 to move back 2 spots in the draft and acquire two front court men in an already crowded front court, and use up a lot of our cap space? Sorry don't think that's gonna work.

[D.o.s.]

David Lee is the kind of lateral move you make to appease a fanbase without actually getting any better as a team.

[SHAQATTACK]

Rather have Sully .

Five years ago I felt different.

[Sketch5]

Unless we are getting a player like Barnes also, this trade make no sense. Lee doesn't make the team better and strong holds us in making a better move.

At least with Barnes there could be a chance he's just been lost in the mix betweeon Thompson,Green and Iggy. A change could resurrect his potential. MAYBE That could be worth taking on the 15 mill, MAYBE.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I'd do a David Lee trade if we're getting Festus Ezeli.

I'm not sure if we would improve a lot with Lee, as consistent as he has been avid entire career, but I think it would really improve the team if were getting s legit Center in Festus. I'd be willing to give Gerald Wallace, Kelly or Sully, James Young and the #28 for that. David Lee can still play.

[Geo123]

I'd do a David Lee trade if we're getting Festus Ezeli.

I'm not sure if we would improve a lot with Lee, as consistent as he has been avid entire career, but I think it would really improve the team if were getting s legit Center in Festus. I'd be willing to give Gerald Wallace, Kelly or Sully, James Young and the #28 for that. David Lee can still play.

But you won't get Ezeli.  They aren't going to trade both of their bigs backing up Bogut who's injury prone.  If you take on Lee it will be the Warriors throwing a pick in and that's all.  To me it's not worth it.  It hurts our flexibility for trades/ FA signings and Lee is past his prime. 

[danglertx]

Unrelated, but I wish ESPN would have a setting that let you move the dates up of trades into the future so you could play around with trades at the start of a new season or after three months or whatever it is for new signees.