Stability is no longer the word to describe former All-Star center David Lee, and as his struggles continue with the Boston Celtics, so does the trade rumors linking him to different teams.
Lee, who left the defending champions Golden State Warriors to play a bigger role with the Celtics, is again out of the rotation for Boston, which recently embraced the small ball kind of play.
Because of Lee's reduced role and often times not playing in games, he is likely an expendable for the Celtics.
But according to a report by Basketball Insiders, the Celtics will have a hard time trying to trade Lee without experiencing "any long-term cap impact" because of his $15.4 million contract.
The report added that the Celtics told teams interested in Lee their desire to have cap flexibility and not be responsible with long-term money.
However, the report suggested that a possible team for Lee to land if he gets dealt is the Toronto Raptors, although the report mentioned, "However, making the cap math work would be complicated unless a third team that's willing to take on one of Toronto's longer deals gets involved."
The Raptors have players whom they have locked in with long-term contracts and a team trying to join the potential three-way trade deal must be willing to acquire players with those kind of deals.
But if successful, Lee may land with the Raptors and have a new environment where he can have a fresh start to resurrect a declining career.
In only 30 games (four starts) played this season, Lee is averaging 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 15.7 minutes played per contest.
Heading to Boston, Lee was looking forward to again be a prominent big man in the league but as the 2015–16 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season rolled, he finds himself playing a much lesser role than the one he had with Golden State.
