DALLAS, TX — David Lee doesn’t really care where Rick Carlisle plays him, but the newest member of the Dallas Mavericks knows he’ll see time at center and power forward as soon as Wednesday when the Mavs host the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center.
“He [Carlisle] said to be ready to play some 5 and some 4 as well. And wherever he puts me in, it’s going to be the same story, for me to play with effort and try to figure it out as we go along,” Lee said after practice on Tuesday, his first workout with all of his new teammates. “Just going to go out there and enjoy it, give good effort and to help our team hopefully win a ballgame tomorrow [Wednesday] night.”
Lee, 32, who most recently played for the Boston Celtics, was officially signed by Dallas on Monday after being bought out by the Celtics over the weekend.
The former Florida Gator has been playing against Dallas ever since he broke into the Association in 2005, when he was the 30th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, and he admits he was always a bit envious of one thing he continually saw from Maverick players.
“Well, I think they’re obviously a first-class organization,” Lee said. “The guys on the team, you can see the chemistry from playing against them and that’s something I want to be a part of. I’ve been in the league long enough, been lucky enough to win a championship. From this point forward, I’m not looking to play on a team that doesn’t have good chemistry. That’s something that’s very important to me if I have a choice.”
One new teammate especially stoked about his arrival is Chandler Parsons, who like Lee, once plied his trade in Gainesville for the Gators.
“He works extremely hard. He’s a proven player in this league that will give us another look at the 4 and the 5, experience, toughness and rebounding, so it’s definitely a good piece for us to add. Looking forward to working with him,” Parsons said.
According to Carlisle, just how Lee’s minutes are divvied up between the 4 and 5 is still to be determined, but the longtime Dallas head coach is definitely glad to be able to add what he sees as a valuable piece to his roster down the stretch.
“He’s had two days of exposure [to our system],” Carlisle said. “We’ve tried to simplify things for him as much as we can. He’s a very smart player and an experienced veteran, so he picks things up quickly. We just got to get him ready to go here.”
Lee has been traded before, but never at midseason, something which the veteran big man is a bit of an adjustment, especially in terms of ensuring his stuff is moved and taken care of in short order.
He also acknowledged that Carlisle’s system isn’t an easy one to learn, so that means he’ll do plenty of extra work with his new head coach and the young players on the Mavs to ensure he gets things down as soon as possible.
And while Parsons is pretty excited about having another ex-Gator in the room in Lee, one Mav that Lee is pretty happy to no longer have to play against is former NBA and NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki.
“A lot better than playing against him for sure. Yeah, I’ve had a lot of battles against him and he’s usually done a lot better than I have. He’s obviously a great player and a guy that’s one of the best of all time at the power-forward position,” Lee said.
Lee will wear No. 42 in Dallas.
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