The Golden State Warriors may consider a David Lee trade this offseason after making a run to the finals, as the forward has been relegated to being a bench player and if he is traded, teams like the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks could be interested in making a move.
Lee is making a high salary for next year and he has been relegated to a bench player for the Warriors as they have made a run to the NBA finals. According to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, Lee is a target to be traded and this comes as the team has shopped Lee over the past two trading deadlines. Lee acknowledged those rumors to Cooper and the report says that Lee could be traded to help shed some salary as the Warriors try and keep their roster together.
Lee has dealt with injuries and with Draymond Green turning into one of the best up and coming bigs in the league, Lee has been relegated to bench status. Lee averaged just eight points and five rebounds per game in less than 20 minutes per game this year and that could lead to him getting shopped. Lee was once a double-double machine, but that time has passed and the tough thing for the Warriors in moving him is his $15.4 million cap hit next year. Lee is coming into the final year of a six-year, $80-million deal he signed when he was traded from the Knicks.
Teams that miss out on free agents like LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe or Marc Gasol could look at Lee as an option, including the Celtics, Rockets and Clippers. DeAndre Jordan is set to be a free agent and if he leaves the Clippers, Los Angeles could look at Lee as a potential option. The Rockets and Mavericks are both expected to go hard after Aldridge and he could be an option for the team that misses out (or both if they both miss out).
The Warriors were the best team in basketball this season and they are looking to keep together this core as they move forward. Getting rid of Lee will help the team with that, as players like Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes are due for pay days moving forward. The team is expected to keep Green, as he is a restricted free agent and they also want to get a deal done with Barnes. Getting rid of Lee will free up some cap space and this comes as Barnes is eligible to sign a new deal.
According to the Bay Area News Group, Marcus Thompson reports that Barnes is interested in signing a new deal before he hits free agency and he has the chance to get an extension by the October 31 deadline. Barnes will be a restricted free agent if that date passes and a new deal is not reached and Thompson writes that Barnes "would prefer to get something done" before getting to that point. Barnes has improved over each of the last three seasons and he shot a career high 48 percent this season and played in 81 games while averaging 10 points, also a career high.
