The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly in a strong position to acquire veteran power David Lee after the Boston Celtics parted with the former All-Star after the NBA trade deadline.
According to Yahoo Sports, the Mavericks, who are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, are confident of their chances of acquiring Lee once he clears waiver. The 32-year-old will be eligible to play in the playoff after securing his release before the March 1 deadline.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle declined to comment on their rumored interest in Lee. But team owner Mark Cuban hinted that they will take a serious look at free agents in the coming days, and also confirmed that Mavericks president and general manager Donnie Nelson has already reached out to Lee's camp.
"Anybody who clears waivers, we're going to take a look at," Cuban told Sportsday. "But we'll see who clears and go from there. Until somebody clears, I don't look at them. I just remember when he [Lee] was a rookie in a preseason game and he and Dirk [Nowitzki] got into it in a big way.
Lee, who won his first NBA title last season with the Golden State Warriors, was dealt to the Celtics last summer. He was initially viewed as a main rotation player in Boston but did not get enough opportunities to make an impact. The 10-year veteran appeared in 30 games, where he averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 15.7 minutes.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens told ESPN he felt Lee is capable of contributing big numbers for the team but he admitted he had a difficult time finding minutes for the former Florida standout. Lee played behind fellow frontline players Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko.
"It was one of those situations where we had a logjam at that spot, and that spot became even tighter because we decided to play small more," Stevens said. "So it was more of a style of play decision than anything else. And it stinks because we knew this going in that a good, productive player would be sitting."
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