Warriors Rumors: Dealing David Lee, Trade Buzz and Free-Agency Rumblings

Many years ago, William Shakespeare wrote, "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," and, as the Golden State Warriors have come to realize, the Bard did not jest.

The Warriors have watched as potential claimants to their throne—most notably the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers—have reloaded and revamped their rosters during the summer free-agency period.

Though some potential foes have notably failed in their execution—I'm looking at you, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers—many have bolstered their rosters in an attempt to steal the Warriors' crown next season.

Golden State took care of its most pressing business early, signing do-it-all forward Draymond Green to a five-year, $82 million contract extension, per ESPN's Zach Lowe:

The Warriors have also made several smaller, supplementary moves, including re-signing Leandro Barbosa and picking up the team option of reserve forward Marreese Speights, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and SheridanHoops' Michael Scotto:

But all that doesn't necessarily mean the champs are content just yet. Here's a look at the most recent trade buzz and free-agency action surrounding the Dubs.

Fare Lee Well

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

After locking Green up, Golden State's next most pressing need was moving the contract of David Lee, due $15.5 million next season.

On Tuesday, the Warriors did just that, unloading Lee on the Boston Celtics in exchange for Gerald Wallace, according to a report from ESPN's Marc Stein:

Though the deal centers around Lee and Wallace, exact details of the transaction are still being ironed out, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe:

On the surface, the deal doesn't seem to yield a significantly positive impact on the Warriors' salary-cap concerns, but according to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, the deal could save Golden State up to $48 million due to the avoidance of a higher luxury tax.

Wallace was once an All-Star-caliber player, making the All-Star team and being selected First-Team All-Defense in 2010, but his reckless style of play has severely inhibited his production in recent years.

He averaged just 1.1 points in 8.9 minutes per game for Boston last year, playing in just 32 total games while dealing with injury woes and DNP-CDs. In spite of his fall from grace, general manager Bob Myers and head coach Steve Kerr have no immediate plans to move the 32-year-old, per Yahoo Sports' Marc Spears:

Despite reports to the contrary, Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News believes Wallace might not want to get too cozy in the Bay Area just yet:

It's difficult to see what Wallace could really offer the defending champs. He's never been a particularly efficient shooter, especially from deep, and his once-elite defense has significantly diminished as the years have passed.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Wallace on the move again in the near future.

A Different Type of Bench Move

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Not all free-agency moves involve men in jerseys; sometimes, they involve men in suits.

Following Golden State's NBA Finals victory over Cleveland, then-assistant coach Alvin Gentry explained to Bleacher Report's Howard Beck how the Dubs' title finally vindicated Mike D'Antoni:

The former Warriors assistant served under D'Antoni during the Phoenix Suns' famed seven-seconds-or-less era, but with Gentry accepting the head coaching gig in New Orleans, Steve Kerr suddenly has an opening for a similarly minded coach.

Who better to step into Gentry's departed position than D'Antoni?

D'Antoni and Kerr have actually worked together before—Kerr became the Suns' general manager during D'Antoni's final season in Phoenix.

And, as ESPN's J.A. Adande noted, Kerr implemented facets of D'Antoni's system into his own this season:

"

Kerr wanted to blend the Suns' offense with the ability to highlight individual matchups through alignment that he experienced in the triangle offense while playing with the Chicago Bulls and the adaptable, fluid offense he played in San Antonio. Hiring Gentry demonstrated which system he valued the most.

"

Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes believes the move would be mutually beneficial for Golden State and D'Antoni, who has been searching for an NBA head coaching gig since resigning as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2014:

"

To D'Antoni's eye, there's also now a clear blueprint: Sign on with the Warriors, win tons of games, remind everyone you're really good at your job and then wait for the head-coaching offers to roll in.

Gentry did it, and anyone who's followed the league over the past decade knows he learned a ton from D'Antoni with the Phoenix Suns. The student was a hot commodity after just a year with the Warriors. If things play out the same way in Golden State next season, shouldn't we expect the teacher to be an even hotter one?

"

As of now, there are no official reports linking D'Antoni to Golden State, but the table is more than set for D'Antoni to make a triumphant return to the NBA in a system he accidentally helped conceive.

Other Rumblings

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

After bringing back several key members of last year's title team and dealing David Lee's contract, there isn't a ton left on Myers' plate at the moment.

There aren't many justifiable reasons to tinker with a team that just won 67 games and its first NBA title since 1975, though that doesn't mean Myers and Kerr are done making smaller moves for the future.

There could be more to the Lee-Wallace deal than initially expected, as former Nets general manager Bobby Marks speculated:

There have also been some preliminary rumblings that Golden State will be looking to get in on next summer's Kevin Durant sweepstakes, per Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News:

"

Yep, the 2015 NBA big-ticket free agent festivities are just about over. And what do we do now?

How about: an entire year talking about Kevin Durant's free-agent decision next July, and yes--the Warriors would love to be a featured part of the Durant discussion as a possible sign-and-trade destination.

"

This is all seemingly just speculation on Kawakami's part, and major assets would have to be moved from Golden State in order to facilitate a deal of this magnitude.

Still, the whispers have piqued the interest of fans around the Bay Area and should serve to put the whole league on notice that the Warriors simply aren't done trying to get better.