Warriors to trade Lee to Celtics for Wallace,
Celtics to swap Wallace as champs get luxury-tax help.
The Golden State Warriors agreed to trade former All-Star forward David Lee to the Boston Celtics for Gerald Wallace, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade can’t become official until the moratorium on NBA business ends Thursday.
Lee injured his left hamstring before the season, and his role diminished with the emergence of Draymond Green, runner-up for defensive player of the year. The NBA champion Warriors have been looking to trade Lee this summer to limit the team’s luxury tax hit next season.
Lee is due about $15.4 million in the final year of his contract. Wallace is owed about $10 million next season.
But because Wallace’s contract was signed after the most recent collective bargaining agreement, the Warriors can use the stretch provision and it will cost the team about $3.3 million over the next three seasons — a huge tax savings.
Lee, 32, played the few- est minutes of his career and averaged just 7.9 points per game — lowest since his rookie year with the Knicks in 2005-06. He’s averaging 14.7 points and 9.5 rebounds for his career.
Whether there’s a role for Wallace on the Warriors is uncertain. The 6-foot-7 forward, an AllStar in 2010 with Charlotte, played sparingly for the Celtics last season — his 14th in the NBA.
The Warriors also agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year deal with reserve guard Leandro Barbosa.
Timberwolves: Kevin Garnett, 39, agreed to return, and Minnesota also signed No. 1 overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns’ threeyear contract reportedly is worth just over $14.9 million, and it includes a fourth-year option.
Mavericks: The NBA fined owner Mark Cuban for commenting about the team’s agreements with DeAndre Jordan and Wes Matthews during the league’s free agent moratorium. The penalty reportedly is $25,000.
Grizzlies: Center Marc Gasol confirmed he will sign a five-year contract with Memphis.
Spurs: Forward David West turned down more lucrative free-agent offers and agreed to a one-year, minimum salary contract worth $1.4 million. ... Becky Hammon, the league’s first female fulltime assistant coach last season, will serve as head coach of the Spurs’ Summer League team and will be the first woman to fill that role in the NBA.
Wizards: Free-agent guard Alan Anderson agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract.