Warriors trade David Lee to Celtics for Gerald Wallace and Chris Babb

The Golden State Warriors traded forward David Lee to the Boston Celtics in exchange for forward Gerald Wallace and guard Chris Babb.

“On behalf of the entire Golden State Warriors organization, we thank David Lee for his contributions both on and off the court over the last five years,” said Warriors General Manager Bob Myers.

Despite those kind words, it was clear that Lee's time in Golden State was coming to an end. The former All-Star power forward's role was marginalized by new head coach Steve Kerr throughout this past season, resulting in a substantial reduction in playing time and production. However, in retrospect the move made sense as it allowed for the emergence of energetic defensive stalwart Draymond Green.

Nonetheless as the 32-year old Lee showed in the playoffs, he was still capable of providing the Warriors with a valuable inside presence that included both scoring and rebounding when called upon. As a result, this trade may eventually hurt the front court depth of a Warriors team already committed to a 'smallball" lineup.

Over the course of his 10-year NBA career, Lee averaged 14.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 695 regular-season games with the New York Knicks and Warriors.

Lee 's five seasons with the Warriors were particularly productive, leading to averages of 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists over 327 regular-season games.  He had his finest season with Golden State in 2012-13, averaging 18.5 points and 11.2 rebounds in 79 games en route to earning Third Team All-NBA honors and a spot on the Western Conference All-Star squad.

Expect Lee's presence to help the Celtics immediately in a comparatively weak Eastern conference.

In return, the key acquisition for Golden State is veteran swingman Gerald Wallace.

Wallace, 33, owns career averages of 11.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.44 steals and 29.7 minutes in 832 regular-season games (611 starts) over 14 NBA seasons with Sacramento, Charlotte, Portland, New Jersey/Brooklyn and Boston.

Wallace's best season was in 2009-10 when he earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors and was an Eastern Conference All-Star with the Charlotte Bobcats. That year he posted averages of 18.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.54 steals.

Babb, 25, appeared in 14 games with Boston as a rookie in 2014-15, tallying 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game. The 6’5” guard appeared in 45 games last season with the Celtics’ D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, averaging 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 34.7 minutes, earning All-NBA D-League Second Team honors.



By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com