Veteran power forward David Lee officially joined the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday after signing a two-year, $3.1 million veteran minimum's contract that includes a player option in the second year, according to latest reports.
Lee, who turned 33 last April, had been offered "more lucrative deals elsewhere", but chose to sign with the Spurs in order to have a legitimate shot at winning another NBA title, as per Yahoo Sports. He is expected to come off the bench to spell either LaMarcus Aldridge or Pau Gasol, who was also recently acquired by San Antonio.
"(General Manager) R.C (Buford) and coach (Gregg) Popovich put a lot of time and energy to give David a visual of how much they wanted him and would use him," said Lee's agent, Mark Bartelstein. "A lot of people talk about taking less money, and not many people do it, so the Spurs get a lot of credit for selling David on joining their organization."
The two-time All-Star is entering his 12th season in the league and has proven that he could still be a significant contributor wherever he plays. Last season, he spent the first half of the season with the Celtics before getting waived in February. He then finished off the final 25 games of the regular season in Dallas, averaging 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in only 17.3 minutes of playing time per night.
CBS Sports indicated that Lee's arrival would "strengthen" the Spurs' bench after the recent departure of Boris Diaw to the Utah Jazz.
The report noted that while Lee is "not exactly the same player he was when he was an All-Star and made All-NBA third team in 2013", he has not declined that much as well and remains to be a reliable player when given the opportunity.
Lee was the 30th overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. He spent his first five NBA seasons with the Big Apple franchise before he was signed and traded to the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2010.
He then played his next five seasons with the Warriors, winning an NBA title during his last year with the squad.
