#ProTops: Courtney Lee Traded to Dallas Mavericks
In a surprising (and crushing for New York Knicks fans) turn of NBA news, star Latvia ncenter Kristaps Porzingis had asked to be traded…
In a surprising (and crushing for New York Knicks fans) turn of NBA news, star Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis had asked to be traded from the Knicks.
Just a few moments later, Porzingis along with former WKU player Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr., and DeAndre Jordan.
This will now be Lee’s eighth NBA team he’s been a part of in his ten year career that started in Orlando. Lee had been struggling with injuries since the end of last season and has only played in 12 games this year.
Lee, along with his two New York counterparts, will join star rookie Luka Doncic and legend Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.
Lee leaving New York isn’t a surprising move (although, I’d be lying if I thought he’d be involved in such a high-profile move). This past July, the Knicks made it clear they were open to moving Lee, if nothing more than to dump some money off their books, and in September, a story came out saying Lee wanted to go to a contender if he was moved.
While I wouldn’t quite call Dallas a “contender,” yet, they’re an awful lot closer than the Knicks are and have maybe the best 1–2 big man punch in the NBA with their acquisition of Porzingis.
Of the eight teams Lee has played for, three of them have been Western Conference teams; Memphis, Houston and now Dallas.
It will be interesting to see if Lee has a bigger role with the Mavs and if he can get another shot at the playoffs once again.
Fletcher Keel contributed some to this article, as well.