Before the Boston Celtics traded David Lee, they tried hard to facilitate a trade for him, and almost succeeded.
The Boston Celtics had very high expectations for veteran big man David Lee when he joined their franchise, but things did not pan out very well for the two parties. Despite a seemingly perfect fit between the player and team, Lee didn’t ever gel with any of the players on the Celtics’ roster, and he was becoming worthless to the team. Head coach Brad Stevens couldn’t figure out how to use Lee, as he didn’t even want to use him late in games that had already been decided because he didn’t want to “disrespect him” as an accomplished veteran in the league, according to the Boston Globe.
Lee’s contract was bought out and he was waived by the Celtics at the trade deadline according to the Globe, but according to the report, the team’s plan A was to trade Lee rather than to waive him. The team’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge hinted at the plan to trade Lee, saying, “We almost had trades a few times, or thought there was a possibility.”
Of course, it would have been nice for the team to get something in return for his large $15.4 million contract that was set to expire after this season, especially since he could still be a good player on another team. Lee’s contract was the largest on the Celtics.
Boston closed out the trade deadline making no deals with other teams for any players.
As a player on the waiver wire now, team’s have an opportunity to take Lee for his existing contract until he clears waivers. Once he clears the 48 hour waiver period, he will act as a free agent, where he is eligible to sign with any team but the Golden State Warriors.