The Golden State Warriors surprising playoff run ended with a game six loss to the San Antonio Spurs and it was a series that could have easily gone to game seven if it weren’t for a blown 18 point lead in game one resulting in a double overtime loss.
Stephen Curry played brilliantly, Harrison Barnes took his game to another level, Jarrett Jack hit clutch shots and Klay Thompson even though he had his ups and downs offensively, played outstanding defense. Looking ahead to the 2013-2014 season there’s definitely excitement for a team that had its best season since 2007-2008.
Interestingly enough in an ESPN.com article examining the playoff run of the Warriors and one question came up in regards to power forward David Lee. who tore his right hip flexor in game one of their series against the Denver Nuggets, yet managed to play sparingly in five other games. The belief is that he should get traded and that’s a ridiculous notion.
In the regular season Lee led the NBA in double-doubles, averaged 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists on 51.9 percent shooting and 79.7 percent from the free throw line. He’s one of the best offensive power forwards as he possesses a mid-range jumper, can score with either hand in the post, is an excellent passer and dribbles extremely well for a big man.
During the series against San Antonio, Golden State missed him being at full strength as Andrew Bogut struggled with foul trouble, free throw shooting and looked to pass instead of taking shots for himself when Curry would find him at the free throw line with a wide open lane to the hoop. Another reason trading him is not likely is due to the health of Bogut who has played in a total of 66 games including postseason over the past two seasons. The contract of Lee runs until 2015-2016 and he will make over $15 million in each of those seasons.
More importantly the Warriors could get Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins contracts off the books, which will enable the franchise to keep Carl Landry and Jack. At this point there’s no point in even believing that Lee will get moved or have his minutes decrease.