Do the Warriors Need David Lee Anymore?
By Ben Pickman
Back in July of 2010 , Joe Lacob had just purchased the Warriors. The franchise was two years removed from the “We Believe” era, but was seemingly stuck in a rut without any promise. Just days after LeBron James announced he was leaving Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat, David Lee agreed to sign with the Warriors for six years and over $80 million.
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Five years later, Lee seems to merely be a source of dead money. With the rise of Draymond Green as well as the improvement of Marresse Speights, Lee is no longer needed.
In six of the Warriors last twelve games, Lee has not seen the floor. The Florida product averages a near double-double for his career, but this season has seen one of the worst seasons of his career.
While it seems that the Warriors depth will be valuable in the playoffs, Lee minutes will get slashed from the rotation come April and May.
Kerr has admitted that this Lee situation is unlike any other situation he has ever dealt with:
"I communicate with all my players all the time. And every player’s different, every situation is different. This is a really tricky one–David’s a great player. He’s been an All-Star. He’s still in his prime. What’s been tricky is we’ve developed a formula while he was out that has been very effective for us and you compound that with the fact that the whole league is going small at the 4 position and every night we’re playing a three-point shooter at the 4 spot. We’ve adapted to that. We’ve adapted to our early-season line-ups–Draymond has obviously grabbed that position. So it’s tricky. David’s a great guy, he’s a great player. If I put him out there for 30 minutes a night, I have no doubt that he’d average 18 points and 10 boards and he’d do his thing, because he’s talented and skilled. But it’s all about how the puzzle fits together and right now he’s just been the odd man out. And it’s incredibly frustrating for him, as it should be. He’s a human being."
Kerr clearly still believes that Lee is a capable player but he also acknowledges the issues in playing him major minutes. Notice what he says about Lee. He dwells on his offensive talent, acknowledging his possible ability on that end. But Lee is a defensive liability and because of his ineptness on the defensive end, Lee doesn’t fit the puzzle. Lee would probably have a lot more success in the Spanish league because he specializes in matador defense.
As a result the David Lee era is coming to end sooner rather than later. With one more full season left on his contract, Lee is a likely candidate to be traded next season.
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It was only two seasons ago when Lee tore his hip joint in the opening game of the Warriors first round playoff series against Denver.
Lee returned later that postseason, playing multiple home-games receiving standing ovations every time he entered. While the Bay Area faithful still loves Lee, his time being an important part of the Dubs is coming to end.