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Boston Celtics trade Gerald Wallace to Golden State Warriors for David Lee
David Lee is headed to the Boston Celtics, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Golden State Warriors have agreed to trade Lee to the Celtics for veteran swingman Gerald Wallace.
The deal can't be officially consummated until Thursday, when a leaguewide moratorium on roster business is lifted.
Lee, 32, lost his starting spot to Draymond Green early in the season due to bad timing as much as anything else, as he suffered a hamstring injury after a strong showing in training camp. Green took to Twitter on Tuesday to express his appreciation for Lee's tutelage:
Once the 67-win Warriors launched to a 21-2 start with Green as the starter, Lee was forced to settle for spot minutes in the midst of the fifth season of a six-year, $80 million deal he signed with Golden State in the summer of 2010.
Scheduled to earn $15.4 million next season, Lee earned a measure of redemption in the midst of the NBA Finals when Warriors coach Steve Kerr suddenly embraced small-ball lineups after Golden State could only manage a split at home in the first two games. Lee served as the first big man off Kerr's bench in Games 3, 4 and 5.
In the Game 3 loss to the Cavaliers, Lee had 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes. In a Game 4 victory, Lee totaled nine points, five rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes.
Lee had been the Warriors' second-longest tenured player, but sources said earlier in the offseason that the Warriors have privately acknowledged to Lee and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, that it would be unfair to the former All-Star to ask him to continue to serve in a limited role next season after Lee accepted his diminished minutes without complaint all season.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Golden State Warriors have agreed to trade Lee to the Celtics for veteran swingman Gerald Wallace.
The deal can't be officially consummated until Thursday, when a leaguewide moratorium on roster business is lifted.
Lee, 32, lost his starting spot to Draymond Green early in the season due to bad timing as much as anything else, as he suffered a hamstring injury after a strong showing in training camp. Green took to Twitter on Tuesday to express his appreciation for Lee's tutelage:
Once the 67-win Warriors launched to a 21-2 start with Green as the starter, Lee was forced to settle for spot minutes in the midst of the fifth season of a six-year, $80 million deal he signed with Golden State in the summer of 2010.
Scheduled to earn $15.4 million next season, Lee earned a measure of redemption in the midst of the NBA Finals when Warriors coach Steve Kerr suddenly embraced small-ball lineups after Golden State could only manage a split at home in the first two games. Lee served as the first big man off Kerr's bench in Games 3, 4 and 5.
In the Game 3 loss to the Cavaliers, Lee had 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes. In a Game 4 victory, Lee totaled nine points, five rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes.
Lee had been the Warriors' second-longest tenured player, but sources said earlier in the offseason that the Warriors have privately acknowledged to Lee and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, that it would be unfair to the former All-Star to ask him to continue to serve in a limited role next season after Lee accepted his diminished minutes without complaint all season.