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5 Potential Trade Destinations For David Lee

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 3, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward David Lee (10) reacts after being called for a foul against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 121-96. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 3, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward David Lee (10) reacts after being called for a foul against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 121-96. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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David Lee
Jan 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward David Lee (10) shoots the ball in front of Houston Rockets guard Corey Brewer (33) to achieve 10,000 career points during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 126-113. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Honorable Mentions:

Houston Rockets: The Rockets could use some extra firepower to take the next step in the West, but they’re already right under the cap and still have Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and Jason Terry to think about re-signing, not to mention Patrick Beverley and K.J. McDaniels hitting restricted free agency…PLUS Kostas Papanikolaou‘s $4.8 million team option.

Trading Papanikolaou would be a great salary dump from Golden State’s perspective, but Houston really doesn’t have the cap room as currently constructed, they have a ton of power forwards already and Lee doesn’t provide the stretch-4 services they’d be looking for.

Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers seem to be a haven for over-the-hill salary dumps these days (sorry, JaVale McGee), and they have the cap space to add him. Trading for Lee would give the young guys a positive locker room presence to emulate and he wouldn’t be good enough to prevent another tank year since that’s what Sam Hinkie is probably gunning for.

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    • But Philly hardly seems like a destination that Lee and his agent would approve, and knowing Hinkie, he’d be asking for draft picks that the Warriors probably don’t want to surrender. Lee and the Warriors both know they can do better than this.

    Boston Celtics: The Celtics have quite a bit of cap room with only $40 million of guaranteed money on the books for next season. Lee would automatically be the best frontcourt player on the roster and as we saw this season, Boston may be further along in the rebuilding process than most thought. David Lee could help the Celtics take the next step and Brad Stevens would find a way to implement him effectively.

    But the Celtics have their eyes on bigger free agency targets like LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love, so unless they strike out, this seems unlikely. Lee might not want to play babysitter for a younger team, even if they’re further along than similarly poor potential landing spots like the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks. Finally, Danny Ainge would probably want picks just like Hinkie.

    Washington Wizards: After watching Nene sputter out in the playoffs this year, most Wizards fans wouldn’t be opposed to the efficient interior scoring and rebounding that Lee could add to the roster. Lee isn’t a great defender, but neither is Nene if we’re being perfectly honest.

    The problem is, the Wizards would have to find a way to trade Nene in a separate deal to clear out enough cap space for Lee. The Warriors definitely aren’t taking on his $13 million contract, even if there’s only one year left, because then they might as well just keep Lee’s $15.5 million contract since they actually like Lee. Washington just has too much work cut out for them to make this happen.

    Next: No. 5

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