Boston Celtics add Courtney Lee to roster in a multi team sign and trade deal – NBA News
The Boston Celtics improved their roster this weekend with the signing of guard Courtney Lee in a multi-team sign and trade deal.
Lee played for the Houston Rockets last season, but they withdrew a qualifying offer for him at the end of the season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Celtics have been interested in Lee for some time, as they thought he was the guard who could cover up for the loss of veteran shooting guard Ray Allen, who signed with the Miami Heat in free agency after playing 5 seasons
with the Celtics. Lee is being brought in to take on his role.
The multi-team deal will see Lee joining the Celtics, with Houston receiving a second round draft pick from Boston, forward JaJuan Johnson, guard E’Twaun Moore and forward Sean Williams. The Celtics will also be trading forward
Sasha Pavlovic to Portland, who have helped the C's in giving Lee a higher salary.
"We are very excited that we were able to acquire Courtney Lee. Courtney brings a vast set of tools on both ends of the court and will be a great fit on our roster,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge.
The Celtics did not have the salary cap space to directly sign Lee, who was an unrestricted free agent. Fortunately for them, the Rockets were willing to engage in sign and trade negotiations. Yahoo! Sports has reported that Lee’s
deal is for four years worth $21.5 million.
Lee averaged 11.4 points and 2.7 rebounds last season for the Rockets, after starting in 26 games. He had a three point field goal percentage of 40.1% last season, and will look to take the role of Ray Allen in the Celtics line-up.
Allen leads the NBA in three pointers made.
"Want to thank all the ppl in Houston friends and fans. Enjoyed my time. Also would like to thank all the Cs fans for the love,” wrote Lee on his Twitter account on Friday.
The Rockets continue to rebuild their roster and the trade for Lee is another in a series of decisions they have made in the past few weeks. The Rockets landed Jeremy Lin a few days ago, and amnestied forward Luis Scola in order
to make cap space for All Star Centre Dwight Howard. They remain engaged in talks with the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers for a possible trade involving Dwight Howard or Lakers centre Andrew Bynum.
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