David Lee was traded with the intent of regaining All Star form.

[jade88]

Now i know there are two David Lee threads on this page right now, but i think this warrants it's own thread. A lot of people seem to be confused by this trade and David's role moving forward.

Some of you even think Lee will be taking over the Crash Wallace role and riding the pine, maybe playing 20-25 at most. Well i think you should take a closer look at his agents words here. This was a very meticulous trade, with the idea of getting Lee to a place that really wanted him and would play him in heavy minutes, it was all about him repairing his financial worth in the NBA.

Read these quotes

 So, partly as an act of good faith and partly to shake free from his $15.4 million expiring contract, Warriors executives worked to find a new home for Lee. On Tuesday afternoon, the Celtics and Warriors agreed to a trade that will send Lee to Boston for veteran forward Gerald Wallace, Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed to the Globe.


“We’ve been working very closely with the Warriors for quite a while,” Bartelstein said by phone. “[Warriors general manager] Bob Myers and I have been talking quite a bit to find a good situation for a guy who was an All-Star-caliber player. It just wasn’t going to happen there future-wise with the Warriors.”


“They’re very excited about him,” he said. “He’s a terrific player. This is a 20-point and 10-rebound guy.”


You can clearly tell Lee and his agent are looking for big minutes, in their minds he's still a an All-Star caliber player. I'm sure this was made clear to Boston early on, but it does appear Boston really wanted him, maybe even for a long time as hinted.


Just want to shed some light on his arrival and what he's looking to do, it's not to ride the pine either!

[harrisun37]

Im certainly intrigued. I haven't seen him play live but have watched some highlights since the signing. To anyone who has watched him play live alot, is he a BIG improvement over bass? Seems similar in terms of shooting range, probably better rebounder. Certainly more expensive ( i know its expiring)

[BudweiserCeltic]

The only player that agency represents that might be of interest is Gordon Hayward, so not going to sweat it out if their expectations with playing time with the Celtics are not met.

[Greenbean]

Im certainly intrigued. I haven't seen him play live but have watched some highlights since the signing. To anyone who has watched him play live alot, is he a BIG improvement over bass? Seems similar in terms of shooting range, probably better rebounder. Certainly more expensive ( i know its expiring)

His offense is a huge imporvement (edit: assuming re regains his form from 2 years ago), but Bass being such an underrated defender, it might be a wash. Then again Lee's offense might be worth more to this team than Bass' defense.

It all depends on how the roster shakes out and which of these 30 pf's remain.

[rollie mass]

he wanted to go somewhere he was wanted,he went to warriors to help build that team and he came to boston because of coach and young team where he could re energize his career -another coup for danny ,brad and boston celtics- glad to have you david lee-

[KeepRondo]

I guess it's something to wish for.

[gift]

I don't expect an All Star. I do expect him to be easily more valuable (both on court and as an asset) than Gerald Wallace.

And even if he somehow fails to meet this low expectation, the damage is limited and for a short time. Great move.

[loco_91]

This is very interesting, TP. I was kind of assuming this was a half-season showcase and we'd be flipping him for a draft pick at the deadline, but it may be more than that. If Lee can play at a borderline allstar level, which is very possible in this system, we could be pretty competitive in the East. Through my green-tinted glasses (admittedly) I think we could be a 5 seed after Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami. That would be awesome for us in FA next year, even if it's a weak class besides Durant (who isn't coming no matter how well we do).

[PhoSita]

He'll come here and put up a lot of double doubles, just like Kris Humphries did.

Like Humphries, I expect he'll end up signing somewhere next summer for the MLE. 

Not many guys like D. Lee are going to be getting major money and guaranteed starting gigs anymore.

[manl_lui]

He'll come here and put up a lot of double doubles, just like Kris Humphries did.

Like Humphries, I expect he'll end up signing somewhere next summer for the MLE. 

Not many guys like D. Lee are going to be getting major money and guaranteed starting gigs anymore.

pretty sure we got a TPE for Humphries and we used that to flip for Zeller (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

[BudweiserCeltic]

He'll come here and put up a lot of double doubles, just like Kris Humphries did.

Like Humphries, I expect he'll end up signing somewhere next summer for the MLE. 

Not many guys like D. Lee are going to be getting major money and guaranteed starting gigs anymore.

I think he'll get a nice contract, even if it's a short one... a lot of money to spend next year, and more importantly, the salary floor will be very high.

[BudweiserCeltic]

He'll come here and put up a lot of double doubles, just like Kris Humphries did.

Like Humphries, I expect he'll end up signing somewhere next summer for the MLE. 

Not many guys like D. Lee are going to be getting major money and guaranteed starting gigs anymore.

pretty sure we got a TPE for Humphries and we used that to flip for Zeller (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Zeller was acquired with the Pierce TPE if not mistaken (with Marcus Thorton).

[PhoSita]

He'll come here and put up a lot of double doubles, just like Kris Humphries did.

Like Humphries, I expect he'll end up signing somewhere next summer for the MLE. 

Not many guys like D. Lee are going to be getting major money and guaranteed starting gigs anymore.

I think he'll get a nice contract, even if it's a short one... a lot of money to spend next year, and more importantly, the salary floor will be very high.

The $$ will look high but in terms of the new cap environment, he'll get a deal that's around the mid-level.  Role player money.

[cltc5]

He deserves minutes.  He's a great addition.

[twistedrico]

Great trade by Danny. The C's front line just got a LOT better.