Should The Golden State Warriors Stand Pat At The Trade Deadline?

The Remaining Piece

You’ll notice I’ve named every single player on the roster…except for one. For those who have been following Golden State’s salary cap situation for the last year or two, you already know the reason for the last player’s exclusion. For those who haven’t, I’ll fill you in: David Lee has been the Warriors’ most likely trade candidate for quite awhile now.

With two years and $30.4 million remaining on his contract, Lee’s contract was a tad inflated before he became Green’s backup. Lee is averaging a respectable 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 19.5 minutes per game, but it’s a far cry from the numbers this two-time All-Star used to put up back when he was a starter.

Lee is 31 years old, but there’s no question he’s still very much the double-double machine he used to be. There has been zero indication Golden State has any intention of trading Lee or anyone else on the roster, but a number of playoff contenders would probably line up for Lee’s services if the Dubs were to put him on the trade block.

Furthermore, trading away Lee’s contract would make it incredibly easier for the Warriors to re-sign Draymond Green to the near max-level contract he’ll command this summer.

The question is, what would the Warriors be able to get their hands on if they were to make David Lee available?

Oftentimes a player with a $15 million salary would be offloaded simply to get the toxic contract off the books, but for a team competing for a title this year like Warriors, they’d need to be getting something equally valuable in return. Moving Lee would be about getting rid of his contract, yes, but it’d be equally important to receive fair compensation for his talents.

Lee is an overqualified backup who, if he were given starter’s minutes again, would likely put up big numbers. He’s a sorely underrated passer, has accepted his backup role without question and is a team player. Speights has been great off the bench, but Lee provides additional scoring and rebounding that the Dubs’ second unit sorely needs.

As he continues to find his groove, the Warriors could be sitting pretty come playoff time with a guy like that coming off the bench.

But if the Dubss were to trade him, they’d be doing so to fix a few problem areas. They would need someone who can score, rebound and defend to fit in with the team aesthetic, sure, but there are two avenues they could take: a stretch-four/five who could knock down perimeter looks, or a defensive big to provide insurance in the event of another Andrew Bogut setback.

Next: Potential Lee Deals