There was a lot of talk about David Lee stemming from this article, written by ESPN’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss. In it, Strauss insists that Lee, the Warriors’ lone All-Star last season, must be traded for the Warriors to capitalize on their ceiling.
Obviously, that comes as crazy talk to many fans, and probably the team itself, who watched Lee put up better than 18 points and 11 rebounds over the course of 79 regular season games last season. He even made a loaded Western Conference All-Star Team in helping to lead the Warriors to their first post-season appearance since 2007, and the only one in his career thus far.
The argument is based on facts: That the Warriors owe a lot of money to Lee over the next 3 seasons and that the team vastly outperformed expectations in the playoffs last season without him. But what those facts say about Lee’s position on this team is entirely up for debate.
There’s been plenty of discussion, now and in previous seasons, about Lee’s value to any team, let alone this version of the Warriors. Even some Golden State fans that now support Lee used to question whether his impact was good or bad. By many, he’s already considered the 4th-best player Golden State’s roster, behind Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut, and Andre Iguodala.
His obvious strengths on offense and in rebounding the basketball set him apart from other players, and for good reason. But his weaknesses have long been highlighted by both casual observers and NBA statisticians alike, and the question remains whether or not he’s worth his contract or is even a positive contributor at all.
That’s a lot for anyone to consider, but make no mistake, the Warriors are doing their best. Despite the team eventually denying the any plans to trade Lee, Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski reported that they were taking offers for Lee earlier this off-season.
There’s any number of ways that all of this can play out. The Warriors could trade Lee anytime in the next few seasons, or they could stick with him, depending on how things play out.
Even if it turns out Strauss is right, and Lee does limit the Warriors’ potential, that might be worked around with an alternative move. Both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes still demand quite a high price on the trade market and could eventually be turned in a separate deal to improve the team.
Still, you’d probably find as many Warrior fans unhappy with those moves as they would with a David Lee trade. Essentially the question is, if this team isn’t a championship team, what must be done to make it better? As Strauss has figured out, moving the most expensive piece on the roster is likely the proper course.
But one last question remains. Are the Warriors a contender and, if not, how far from it are they? Moving Lee now could make the Warriors look unsure of themselves, and certainly, if that trade netted little to nothing in return, it’d make them a less talented squad with fewer quality lineup possibilities.
It’d do so with future questions to answer, the biggest being “can Harrison Barnes play power forward for extended minutes?” As was described by Strauss, these are “first-world” NBA problems to have. The Warriors are in a good position with plenty of optimism surrounding them.
Eventually, the Warriors are either going to be in a great position, or have a tough decision to make. While Strauss puts it pretty bluntly, and probably underestimates the value Lee brings to this Warriors team, he might be right. Let’s not shoot the messenger just yet.
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