Courtney Lee expresses his desire to play for the Boston Celtics next season – NBA News
The Boston Celtics started off slowly in the free agency but seem to have done the job at the end of the day. The first achievement for the Celtics was to retain all star forward Kevin Garnett for another few seasons, which means he will probably finish his career as a Celtics. His return has ensured that three of the four core players have remained intact. Garnett will pair up with Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo next year.
The Celtics got a potential upgrade for the fourth guy in the core when they added Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks in the line-up.
Ray Allen left the Celtics to become a member of the Celtics’ east coast rivals and the team they lost to in the Eastern Conference Finals this year, the Miami Heat. But the Celtics seem happy with the decision and had already signed Terry by the time Allen made his decision.
The Celtics then have Jeff Green returning this season from a heart condition that had him missing the whole of the previous season. Avery Bradley will also be returning next season, albeit after nearly two months.
And now Houston Rockets guard-forward Courtney Lee has also expressed his desire to play for the Celtics next season.
Talking to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, Lee expressed his desire of moving to the Celtics. He said:
“Me and Doc, we’ve always had a relationship since I’ve been in the NBA. I’m a friend of both of his kids, Austin and Jeremiah. We work out together, always see each other. Me and Doc always speak. There’s interest there, but there was no verbal agreement or anything, just hearing each other out. He expressed his interest. I expressed my interest. It’s not basketball-wise that needs to be discussed, it’s the front office and my agent that needs to communicate and go from there.”
Lee’s comments indicate that the only thing that needs to be discussed is the salary.
Boston is tight on salary cap space after the signing of Terry, but if the Celtics are able to offer a reasonable deal to Lee, it would be a great addition to the Celtics roster and would immediately raise their chances of an Eastern Conference crown next year.
Lee is a versatile player who can play guard as well as small forward. He averaged 11.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season with the Houston Rockets. He has a 43.3% field goal average from last season and an impressive 40.1% conversion rate from beyond the arc. The addition of Lee would strengthen the Celtics bench and provide a back up player to Paul Pierce, who showed signs of wearing down last season.
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