David Lee is back to where he was before he was traded by the Golden State Warriors--on the bench.
Lee was hoping to get more playing time with the Boston Celtics but thus far, the 32-year old NBA forward has yet to hit his stride. His entry was seen as a means to add experience and mentorship to the young forwards of the Celtics but head coach Brad Stevens seems to have gone in a new direction.
Just like most teams these days, the Celtics are trying to shift to a small frontline, which ironically was the same reason that eased Lee out of the Warriors' rotation last season. So if one thinks of it, Lee could very well be parting with Boston soon, though he says he hasn't really asked for a trade.
Lee is sticking around to see how Stevens' approach will pan out despite the fact that he disagrees with the whole setup. Considering, however, he hasn't really put up good performances with the Celtics thus far, he may be partly to blame for the new direction the Celtics are headed towards.
The Celtics were ecstatic with the arrival of Lee, calling it a dream come true. The team had always wanted to land Lee but the opportunity simply wasn't there. But now it seems animosity tied up to it has died down and Lee is back to his old role of being on the bench.
With that said, Lee seems to be applying a wait-and-see approach. He does have the skills to help any team in terms of play and veteran leadership, but the thing is that he just cannot seem to land the right squad to do so.
The good thing is that Lee is playing out his final year of that six-year $80 million contract, meaning he is due for a new one by season's end. The setback is that his worth may not be similar to that of the previous one, especially if he continues to be underutilized.
