The Golden State Warriors ultimately decided against dealing for star power forward Kevin Love. The framework of their deal would have consisted of the Warriors dealing guard Klay Thompson and guard David Lee for Love and guard Kevin Martin.
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Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders like the way Lee played last year but believes they should have gotten out of his contract.
"Lee actually got much better last year, to the point I think he is maxing out his physical abilities. He got in much better shape, which was his real limitation defensively before. He got to the point where he was acceptable on the pick and roll, which he should be because of his mobility. But his shorter arms and relatively weak physical stature combine with his declining athleticism as he ages to fix it so he’ll never be a great defender or defensive rebounder at this point.If I may digress slightly, I think a big reason the Warriors will regret not trading Thompson for Love (assuming that opportunity really existed) is that they overvalued Lee. Getting out from under his contract would have been a big positive of that deal."
Lee is scheduled to make $15,012,000 for the 2014-2015 season and $15,493,680 for the 2015-2016 season. He is the highest-paid player on the Warriors.
Lee averaged 18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 52.3% from the field and 78.0% from the free throw line last season. Lee was originally drafted by the New York Knicks with the 30th-overall pick in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft. After five years in New York, he was dealt to the Warriors in a sign-and-trade to make room for the Knicks to sign Amar’e Stoudemire. In his nine-year NBA career, he’s averaged 15.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 53.4% from the floor and 78.0% from the charity stripe.
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