Chowder and Champions
Fansided

Boston Celtics: Time to Move on from David Lee

By Jason Haskins

Dec 9, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward David Lee (42) reacts to the crowd after his basket against the Chicago Bulls in the second half at TD Garden. Celtics defeated the Bulls 105-100. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 9, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward David Lee (42) reacts to the crowd after his basket against the Chicago Bulls in the second half at TD Garden. Celtics defeated the Bulls 105-100. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Boston Celtics should aggressively look to move David Lee.

The NBA season is long, but four months can make all the difference, especially in the case of David Lee of the Boston Celtics.

Optimism ran high for fans of the Celtics when Lee was acquired from the Golden State Warriors last off season. He was expected to not only bring veteran leadership to this young Celtics team, but also help bring to a scoring punch to the Boston front-court.

The result thus far? 29 games played (out of 36) and 7.2 points per game, averaging a paltry 15.7 minutes per contest.

Cue the grumbling from Lee.

In Boston’s 101-92 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, Lee logged his third straight DNP-CD. Earlier in the day, Lee voiced his displeasure in being moved further and further down the bench. Not that his presence would have made much difference in the loss to the Bulls.

More from Boston Celtics

To his credit, Lee has vowed to continue to work hard to earn back some minutes. In taking his gripe public, though, it is best for all parties involved to say good-bye and go their separate ways before this goes too far.

There are a myriad of reasons Lee has fallen so far down the rotation. One is his play. Another is the recent emergence of Kelly Olynyk. Olynyk has been starting over the last week and had another solid effort against the Bulls, scoring 16 points and pulling down nine rebounds.

Jae Crowder (17 points in the loss) is also having an outstanding season, locking up a spot in the starting lineup. Jared Sullinger and Amir Johnson are also contributing solid minutes, with Sullinger getting another double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) against the Bulls.

A logjam in the front-court has been created by the play of Olynyk, Crowder, Sullinger and Johnson, leaving Coach Brad Stevens with little choice but to bench Lee and his less-than-adequate play.

This begs the question: why hasn’t Lee been traded yet? There are a few plausible reasons, the first being simply there is no trade market for him. He is in the last year of his deal, earning over 16 million this season alone. Lee hasn’t really done much this year to show he can be a solid contributor and his defense (or lack thereof) isn’t enticing to teams.

More from Chowder and Champions

The other option might be that GM Danny Ainge hasn’t placed Lee on the trade market. Perhaps fear of the injury bug (Sullinger has been banged up off and on this season) and the lackluster play of Tyler Zeller have Ainge worried his front-court will suddenly become thin and Lee will be needed.

Whatever the case may be, it is time for Lee to make a graceful exit while he still can. The Celtics are in dire need of one more piece to make a true run in the playoffs. Lee was supposed to be that man, but he’s shown he’s truly not the player he was three years ago.

The idea of David Lee certainly began with a bang, but now it’s time to let it die out with a whimper. Trade him before that whimper becomes a loud bark and the young Celtics are distracted with a player complaining about minutes instead of focused on the mission at hand: securing a high seed in the playoffs and raising another banner to the rafters.

Home/Boston Celtics