NBA Rumors: David Lee wants Warriors to trade him

The NBA Finals are over and the Golden State Warriors are already getting started on their offseason with word that David Lee will likely be traded.

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The word emerging on Wednesday, the day after the Warriors won the Finals, that David Lee will likely be traded, is not all that surprising. Lee said it himself two weeks ago that he expected the Warriors to make an attempt to trade him this offseason. Lee knows he’s on the books for $15.4 million in his final season of a six year deal. Lee was also largely a bench player this last season and there’s no way the Warriors are going to want to pay his salary for him to come off the bench all year, not when they also want to keep Draymond Green.

So not only does Lee know that the Warriors want to trade him, he’s expected it and he intends to help make it happen. The question for the Warriors is how they sweeten the pot to convince another team to take on Lee and his contract. Lee is a decent player and he definitely helped the Warriors in the Finals, but he’s also 32 and his upside is fast disappearing. As it is, he lost his starting job to Green and then he was even limited off the bench by Marreese Speights and Festus Ezeli. The final games against the Cavs also showed Lee’s weakness in the Warriors style of play, and you could even argue in the modern NBA period. His inability to make quality shots outside as well as his defense has led to less quality minutes for Lee. He was the big guy coming off the bench for Golden State, who essentially won through their shooting and strong defense.

The Warriors have already dealt away their first-round pick in 2017, as well as second-rounders from 2015 to 2018. They could still deal their 2015 first-round pick or first-round picks in later years. The good thing is that Lee being on board for the trade means the sales pitch should be coming from more than one direction.

Lee said via ESPN that he’s not trying to prove to anyone that he can play, but that it was nice to be able to set aside his ego and go for something bigger than himself. He referenced talk in New York that he could put up big numbers, but not necessarily help his team win. Lee said he wants to be known as a guy who can compete and be a great teammate, not just put up big numbers. He says he thinks he’s proved that this year, which he has, by being ready for his role off the bench and not complaining.

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