Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“There was no verbal agreement or anything, we’re just hearing each other out,” Lee said. “They expressed their interest. I expressed my interest. It’s not basketball wise, there needs to be discussions with the front offices and my agent. They need to communicate and go from there.”
Asked how he would characterize the nature of discussions with the Celtics, Lee said, “I wouldn’t know how to characterize it. I have a great relationship with Doc from the first time I stepped on an NBA court. I would say our meeting went well. As far as characterizing where I’m at with the team; coach and player-wise we’re on the same page.”
Lee’s agent is Dan Fegan, who is well aware that it’s a buyer’s market for shooting guards. His message: Stay patient. Lee understands the situation he’s in and he knows that if he is to work out a deal with the Celtics it would require some maneuvering. The Celtics are over the cap, so any deal with Lee would have to be worked out in a sign-and-trade arrangement with the Rockets.
“There’s other ways,” he said. “You know Houston and [GM] Darryl Morey, he loves draft picks and that’s one thing you can do with a sign-and-trade.”
Any sign-and-trade deal would require a contract of three years with 4.5 percent raises built in. This is where it gets tricky, but if the Celtics stay under the luxury tax — not the $4 million apron, but the tax itself — they can accept 150 percent of the value they send out. In other words, if they can build a package worth around $2.7 million, they could start a three-year contract with Lee for $4 million. (Those numbers are hypothetical. No trade parameters are known yet.)
Lee says the Celtics are one of eight teams in the mix. I’ll be honest – I’m not thrilled with the idea of committing 3-years to Courtney Lee. There must be a reason he’s played for three teams in four years, right?
Lee mentions the inclusion of draft picks in the sign-and-trade. The Celtics would still need to include players, because draft picks carry no monetary value.
KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune says the Celtics and Pacers are the leaders to land Lee.
In other news, Jason Terry intimated that had Dallas made him a priority, he might still be there:
“Boston was the first to call me and Doc Rivers got on the phone and said, ‘We need you, you’re our No. 1 priority,’ ” he told RF Sports Report, which followed Terry and his daughter’s AAU basketball team at a recent tournament in Orlando, Fla. “Had I got that same phone call from Dallas, I’d still be a Dallas Maverick.
“But I didn’t, so I’m on to bigger and better things and hopefully with that team, with the way they are structured right now we have another chance to win the championship.”
Sound familiar?
The rest of the links:
Globe – For Lee, Rivers, it’s a match game | Herald – Lee might be in plans down road | Sully’s debut strong | ESPN Boston – Courtney Lee: C’s in the mix | Sullinger talks about C’s debut | Good first impression for Sullinger | Lue lets them play at summer league | ESPN – Knicks to resign JR Smith |
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