The Celtics have been quite good this season. Despite currently being in the midst of a 3-game losing streak, they’re still over .500, sitting at 14-13.
The Celtics find success despite the lack of star power on their roster due to a mix of great coaching, impeccable defense, and remarkable depth. The question that GM Danny Ainge must face, though, is how much depth is too much? There aren’t enough minutes to go around, and some players aren’t going to get the playing time that they feel they deserve.
Two players who haven’t been playing much are big men Tyler Zeller(7.8 minutes per game) and David Lee(15.6 minutes per game). It’s not surprising that certain big men are getting the short end of the stick in Boston’s crowded frontcourt. Along with Zeller and Lee, they have to get minutes to Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, and Amir Johnson, all of whom have outplayed Lee and Zeller this season. And then there’s rookie Jordan Mickey(who spends most of his time in the D-League) and Jonas Jerebko, a combo forward who spends time at the 4.
The Celtics are a likely candidate to make a trade this season, as some players have all but fallen out of the rotation. David Lee is, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, available. From Aldridge:
The Celtics have been very solid, but Coach Brad Stevens has a minutes problem, as evidenced by the lack of time for David Lee—whose expiring contract is available, per league sources.
Two seasons ago, David Lee was averaging 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while playing around 33 minutes in Golden State. Then, an injury to Lee gave Draymond Green a chance to emerge as one of the premiere all-around players in the league, and Lee’s role hugely reduced. Coming to Boston, many expected Lee to return to form, and average a double-double. Instead, Lee is playing even less minutes for the Celtics than he played in Golden State last year. Lee has looked pretty good in limited minutes though, at least offensively. He’s still very capable of getting buckets around the rim. Perhaps because of this, he will have some value around the league. We’ll have to wait and see if Ainge can find any suitors.
I’m sure that many teams teams could use some additional frontcourt talent. Off the top of my head, a likely candidate could be the Toronto Raptors, who are starting 35-year old Luis Scola at power forward.
