Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Recent trade talks between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers are starting to heat up. With that being said, the contractual obligations are starting to rear their ugly heads. In particular, the chunk of change that the Celtics owe Courtney Lee is coming up in conversation.
Early reports confirm that Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett are being shopped to L.A. in exchange for DeAndre Jordan, but the biggest question mark surrounds Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe. A rather hot commodity, the 23-year-old is one of the Clippers’ biggest trade pieces, yet L.A. is apparently resisting to deal him eastward.
Instead, the two sides are working on a deal that could involve Lee.
The Celtics’ faithful would be glad to unload the under-achieving Lee considering he is owed upwards of $15 million over the next three years. With Los Angeles covering Lee’s troublesome contract, Boston would have more money to improve its team via free agency. While the centerpieces in the trade may be set, role players like Lee and Bledsoe are the ones who are most likely to drag this deal on longer than anyone wants.
At the same token, this is a blockbuster deal; just think of how rare it is to see a coach being traded. On an even stranger note, the Celtics have hinted at Vinny Del Negro possibly being their next head coach — a head-coach swap would cause jaws across the NBA to drop.
For now, the waiting game continues as Lee’s name gets mentioned and the thought of Bledsoe going to the Celtics diminishes by the hour.
