NBA Rumors: Boston Celtics Regret David Lee Trade; Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas Bid Center Goodbye

By Mitch de Leon
NBA: Boston Celtics at Memphis Grizzlies
Jan 10, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Boston Celtics forward David Lee (42) dunks the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half at FedExForum.  Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics are clawing themselves out of the bottom rankings in the Eastern Conference. With the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and Chicago surging forward this NBA season, the Isaiah Thomas squad needs to find a way to climb the division. With an inconsistent performance this year, it looks like the Boston Celtics will have to exert more effort regarding handling the talent in the basketball team.

One of the major changes applied in the Boston Celtics roster is the switch to small ball basketball - a modification that might have something to do with the Golden State Warriors. This tweaking of their roster subsequently placed some basketball stars in the sidelines. A particular NBA star who fell victim to this change is big man David Lee.

The former Golden State Warriors star has not touched the ball in the hardwood court since January 10, 2016. His last game with the Boston Celtics, which resulted in a loss in the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies, had Lee play for roughly 16 minutes. Moreover, Brad Stevens declared his resistance to the idea of playing Lee in blowout games. The Boston Celtics head coach explained that his respect and admiration for the former Golden State Warriors player restrained him from doing so.

"That's more about he's been in the league a long time," shared Stevens via the Boston Globe. "That's more out of just, I'm not gonna put him in there for five minutes or four minutes at the end of a game. He's a really good player. The reason that he hasn't played is a style of play choice, not a choice with any particular skill set by a particular player. And so it's a tough situation for him. He's handling it like a pro, but that's just a choice that I've made in the ends of those games in those situations."

Stevens further shared that the situation with Lee, who is the only active player in the Boston Celtics not sent to play during NBA games, is "probably not all that unusual." The head coach reasserted that the move was "more of a choice of mine."

While Stevens attempts to play out the situation as a normal routine, some fans feel that this might signify another major roster move for the Boston Celtics. It has become apparent that Lee was not a good fit for the NBA team. However, the Boston Celtics still need a big man in their team. With this in mind, rumors of a possible Blake Griffin swap with the Los Angeles Clippers have started circulating. At the moment, though, the parties involved have yet to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, Lee remains vague on his feelings about the changes. While the big man is optimistic that the tides will turn for him this NBA season, the Boston Celtics star has not closed his doors for trade offers.

"We'll see moving forward how permanent this is," Lee said in an earlier interview via MassLive. The center added, "Obviously I'm very confident I can help a team win. I'd love for that to be the Boston Celtics. So no, I haven't spoken about (a possible trade request). I haven't really thought about that yet. Right now it's about continuing to be ready, and if that was talked about it would be between my agent, the Celtics and other teams. At this point I'm excited to get back on the floor and play minutes for the Celtics, and hopefully that will be tomorrow night, and play minutes, and help us win the game."

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