Celtics forward David Lee was fresh off an NBA Championship when the Golden State Warriors traded the left-handed big man to Boston during the offseason. After the trade, Lee remained optimistic and excited to start anew.
According to nba.com, Lee said during the offseason that his new team has many similarities to the NBA champions Golden State Warriors.
Based on a report by bostonherald.com, Lee spoke about his excitement in joining the young and rebuilding Boston Celtics. "The biggest thing is the chemistry and the character of this team," said Lee.
"After experiencing what we had in Golden State, and what a tight-knit team we were - I've been in this league a long time and don't want to go back to the other way because I've seen both sides of it as you guys know," Lee added.
"I talked to coach [Brad Stevens] and Danny [Ainge], and they really wanted me here. We almost got it done the last time in free agency," Lee said. "
Lee then stated "This is a place I've always thought about, and of course with the hometown support it's a place that loves its basketball. A great place to play. I heard there was interest and I was interested right back."
However, as seen on masslive.com, this is no longer the case. Lee has sat out most of the team's games and has been benched by their head coach. When asked about the benching, Lee tried to remain positive while citing that he still can contribute.
"We'll see moving forward how permanent this is," Lee said early about his diminished role. "Obviously, I'm very confident I can help a team win. I'd love for that to be the Boston Celtics. So no, I haven't spoken about (a possible trade request). I haven't really thought about that yet."
He then added "Right now it's about continuing to be ready, and if that was talked about it would be between my agent, the Celtics and other teams. At this point, I'm excited to get back on the floor and play minutes for the Celtics, and hopefully, that will be tomorrow night, and play minutes, and help us win the game."
Aside from the draft pick of the Brooklyn Nets, Lee's contract is one of the Celtics' biggest trade chips. It was cited by fansided.com that Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski stated that the Celtics are still interested in the Cavaliers big man Kevin Love. The Celtics have been reported to offer a draft pick, Jae Crowder and David Lee to the Cavs.
