With most of the big-name free agents off the board, Courtney Lee appears to be the top option remaining on the market among wing players. As such, he's drawing plenty of interest — Paul Flannery of WEEI.com writes that agent Dan Fegan advised Lee to be patient, and that patience is close to paying off.
If the Timberwolves' offer sheet to Nicolas Batum is matched by Portland, as expected, both Minnesota and Phoenix will have plenty of cap space to use on Lee. The 26-year-old is also drawing interest from the Bulls and Celtics, though those clubs would likely have to acquire Lee via sign-and-trade.
A deal with Chicago might pique the Rockets' interest, as the Bulls have a $5MM trade exception that could be used to avoid sending salary back to Houston. As the Rockets pursue Omer Asik and Dwight Howard, it's unlikely the team would want to absorb any contracts, which a trade with Boston would require. According to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Lee has expressed a "strong interest" in playing for Doc Rivers and the Celtics, but with a sign-and-trade difficult to work out and the bi-annual exception unlikely to be enough for Lee, that appears to be a long shot.
Lee may have been a Plan B for some teams that missed out on players like Batum, Eric Gordon, and O.J. Mayo, but as one of the top available targets out there now, he appears to be in line for a lucrative deal.
hey gar & pax, could we sign SOMEONE this offseason?