I 100% agree that based on NBA salaries Lee is in the $8mm to $10mm range, but for the Knicks to lose him another team has to offer him that money. Care to tell me which team that would be?

Dont bog yourself down with research.. I did it for you.

Teams with cap space next year:
Det

Thats it guys... Only team that can clearly offer him a big deal is Detroit. Let Sheed and AI walk and they have the space to offer Lee that money.

On the bubble:
Memphis: their space is there with no Gasol, no Hakkim Warrick and if they trade way down or dump their #1
OKC: thier space is there if they dont resign Swift or Petro, two very young bigs they have invested a lot of time in.
Portland: They have to let Martell Webster and Frye walk to have space.

other FAs Lee will have to compete with:
Bibby
Zaza Pachulia
Drew Gooden
Ben Gordon
Brandon Bass
Allen Iverson
Rasheed Wallace
Ron Artest
Lamar Odom
Trevor Ariza
Shawn Marion
Andre Miller
Grant Hill
Shelden Williams

This doesnt include ETO types or RFAs

Dude's not going anywhere is any team that trades for him has a 99% chance of resigning him unless he refuses and plays under the QO and the market is STILL thin as there are a slew of top tier guys ahead of him.

Lee and Nate arent going anywhere until DW says they are

Posted by fishmike:


Dont bog yourself down with research.. I did it for you.

I read this as "Don't bong yourself down with research". Thought it was more fun.

Fishmike thanks for the research. You're assuming no teams will make trades this year. I can assure you that Lee is wanted by more than one team right now. Portland has 41 million on the salary cap for next year so I know they have some openings. The Knicks should have traded Lee this summer instead they let him go to RFA which hurt his trade value. If he goes to unrestricted then you for sure lose him for nothing. Not many teams in the NBA are dumb enough to lose a double-double for nothing.

Posted by King1:

Fishmike thanks for the research. You're assuming no teams will make trades this year. I can assure you that Lee is wanted by more than one team right now. Portland has 41 million on the salary cap for next year so I know they have some openings. The Knicks should have traded Lee this summer instead they let him go to RFA which hurt his trade value. If he goes to unrestricted then you for sure lose him for nothing. Not many teams in the NBA are dumb enough to lose a double-double for nothing.

teams can always make trades... sure, no doubt. But look at the list of FAs with him. Its thin but not THAT thin. Would you rather have Lee or Marion for 5 years? Drew Gooden and Odom are very productive players as well. Port has not resigned Martell Webster who is just coming back and had a very solid finish last year, he's a 22 year old 6'7 shooting guard.

I am not argueing for one second that Lee isnt desired around the league and you know I respect your insight on this topic above others around here. However Lee's options are limited. If Lee played baseball his team would have missed a great shot to resign him, but he's got to deal with NBA economics.

As for trades I expect the Knicks to be among those dealing. DW's history is to resign his own players to generous contracts. Remember, if the Knicks can move Curry and JJSkinny they can resign Lee, Nate and Duhon and still have max space. Lotta time left on the clock

Should the Knicks look to sign any of the dudes on that list, this coming off-season?

Iverson sticks out.....ben gordon is another. Knicks nee a shooting guard. If the Knicks are on pace to get enough money to get 2 max contracts.......should they dip into that fund this coming off season?

Posted by EnySpree:

Should the Knicks look to sign any of the dudes on that list, this coming off-season?

Iverson sticks out.....ben gordon is another. Knicks nee a shooting guard. If the Knicks are on pace to get enough money to get 2 max contracts.......should they dip into that fund this coming off season?

No cap space this offseason.

Posted by fishmike:

Knicks are in the drivers seat. DW knows it and Lee knows it also.

Bongs... might improve my day :)

You make an interesting point about who can offer the money outright. I hadn't really put deep thought into it other than knowing someone might be inclined to make Lee and offer he couldn't refuse and we really can't afford to match.

His stats dictate he's worth 10M a year. Our future plans and desire to link 2 max free agents together makes his 10M+ a possibly liability.

I'm not really sure there's any answer here other than: If Walsh feels we can't retain him he will be gone at the deadline, hopefully along with Curry, for expiring, a young promising player or maybe a pick. --- If Walsh feels we CAN retain him then it'll be done but if so then Lee's gotta take less than he wants and that's rarely something a player agrees to do.

If Lee pushes the issue then it's goodbye Lee. We're onto bigger and better things here. It'd be nice if Lee was a part of it but it won't be nice if Lee is a part of the reason we couldn't get it done (get 2 stars here).

David Lee is replaceable

I still want to know what is going to stop Al and Lee from getting monster FA offers this offseason?

BRIGGS,

Al Harrington?

I guess if he keeps putting up huge numbers he could opt out for more money. Let's see how the season pans out first.

Posted by BRIGGS:

I still want to know what is going to stop Al and Lee from getting monster FA offers this offseason?

No, you don't want to know. If you did genuinely want to know, you would have paid close attention to Fish's prior posts. You really just want to whine and cry.