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Where will David Lee Fit on the Boston Celtics?

By Joshua Bateman

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The Boston Celtics did a phenomenal job by acquiring David Lee in order to get rid of the Gerald Wallace contract. The move is remarkable for two reasons. One, it got rid of one of the worst contracts in the NBA as the Celtics got absolutely nothing out of Wallace’s $10 million salary. Two, they managed to get a potential starter and immediate contributor in return for dumping that contract.

David Lee will have no problem having an offensive impact with Brad Stevens and he will certainly have a shot at the starting lineup. That raises the question as to which position Lee would play if he becomes a consistent rotation player.

David Lee has played most of his career at the power forward position but he has a couple seasons of center under his belt and one season at small forward.

Lee will be an option for small forward considering the Celtics have absolutely no depth behind Jae Crowder but the Celtics have better options such as Evan Turner or James Young who can switch over to the small forward position. As issue for Lee moving to the SF would be three point shooting. Even if Crowder and Turner shot the three ball poorly they both remain threats from long range. Lee, on the other hand, has never been a threat from three point range and that would limit his capabilities at the small forward position.

The position Lee would be most comfortable with is the power forward position. He played power forward each season he was with the Golden State Warriors and it is at that position that Lee reached his full potential as an all star.

June 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward David Lee (10) controls the ball against the defense of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in the first half in game five of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

There’s no doubting that Lee could have success as a power forward with Boston. The Celtics just lost Brandon Bass, the former starting PF, and Lee would be capable of doing everything Bass did and then some. The best part of Bass’ game was his reliable shooting. Bass shot the ball over 50% and he ensured that the offense would maintain a great flow, while never attempting to play isolation hero ball.

Another thing the Celtics loved about Bass is that even though his height hurt their rim protection it allowed the team to play small ball which they were the most successful at.

David Lee comes in at 6’9 ensuring that the Celtics can continue to play small ball and he has the potential to be even better than Bass offensively. Bass was always a secondary player in the offense, not creating as many shots for himself but capitalizing on the open opportunities his teammates created for him.

Lee can certainly be as reliable as Bass as he has never shot the ball under 50% in his entire career and he maintained that while having a much more dynamic and versatile offensive arsenal. Lee can certainly be an offensive upgrade over Bass and he can bring along improved rebounding at the same time.

Before being benched last season, Lee had 6 straight seasons with at least 9 rebounds per game, a mark that Bass never reached in his career. Lee’s stats are certainly inflated due to the fact that he has been playing significantly more minutes than Bass but there is no doubting that the potential is there. If you look strictly at rebounding percentage, Lee still takes it in a landslide as he has been over 15% every season, while Bass has eclipsed that mark just twice in his career.

Lee can fill the void left by the loss of Bass but the problem is that there are plenty of other power forwards that will be competing. Jared Sullinger will be his biggest competition for the starting lineup and the biggest edge Sullinger has is his three point shooting.

Apr 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger (7) shoots the ball over Detroit Pistons center Joel Anthony (50) during the second quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Celtics won 113-103. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Lee will also have Jerebko’s three point shooting to deal with as he shot the ball over 40% from beyond the arc last season. Jerebko will have to add to his game in order to be a threat for the starting unit but his phenomenal three point shooting will be a threat to Lee’s playing time.

Then there’s also the newly acquired Amir Johnson for Lee to contend with. He comes in at the same height as Lee but is a significantly worse rebounder. He is similar to Lee in his inability to extend beyond the three point line but Johnson has been one of the best and most consistent finishers. Johnson has shot below 55% just once in his career and unless Lee is able to immediately return to his prime it is difficult to see him playing over Johnson. Lee does have a great rebounding edge but it will be difficult for that alone to propel him ahead of both Sullinger and Johnson.

Lee will likely end up with reps at the power forward position but the place he could provide the most help tot he Celtics is at the center position. Playing Lee at center would be the ultimate small ball for the Celtics as both Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk stand at 7 feet tall.

Lee would be able to flourish at the center position because it will allow him to utilize his mid range and post game without having to worry about his three point shooting. Kelly Olynyk is a unique weapon in the league being a stretch 5 but Stevens still elected to start Zeller who never extended beyond the three point line.

Zeller did a great job shooting the ball over 55% but his offensive game is not quite as polished as Lee’s. Zeller is yet to prove that he can have an offense run through him as he only averaged 7.5 shot attempts per game last season. Before being benched, Lee had 6 straight seasons with at least 11 shot attempts per game.

Mar 8, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Boston Celtics center Tyler Zeller (44) runs down the court during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated Boston Celtics 103-98. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Zeller is still developing and until he can prove that he is capable of maintaining his efficiency with an increased usage, Lee will be a better offensive option. The Celtics will be able to rely on Lee more and there is nothing that Zeller can do that Lee is not also capable of doing.

Another great appeal of putting Lee at the center position is it will maintain the Celtics’ small ball while not sacrificing rebounding. Last year Zeller and Olynyk combined for 10.4 rebounds. Lee has, by himself, collected more than 10.4 rebounds per game 4 times in his career.

Zeller has a similar rebounding percentage at 14.7, but again it raises the issue of trust. The Celtics know that Lee is capable of maintaining his rebounding percentage while playing over 30 minutes per game. For Zeller, it is still completely unknown. It may be unfair to Zeller as he has yet to be given a chance to prove he can maintain his efficiency. However, The Celtics know what Lee is capable of and if he is given the minutes he will capitalize on them.

Moving Lee to the center position would make the Celtics one of the smallest teams in the league but the Celtics have much less depth at center and with the two centers currently on the team being so young it could make a significant difference having the trusted veteran Lee move over to that position.

The Celtics have a lot of pieces that may not fit on the opening day roster so having a versatile player like Lee will go a long ways in helping the team. Even if Lee does not have one steady position on the team having the ability to move him around between the 4 and the 5 while being the best rebounder and one of the best offensive options on the team will go a long ways in getting them back into the playoffs.

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