Posted by Bonn1997:

6 years, $7 mil per year? With a back-loaded contract, my guess is that his salary in the crucial 2010 season would be around $5 or $5.5 mil. That would be a great scenario.

Posted by martin:

Posted by TMS:

if he does then Lee goes to TOR & we end up w/nothing, & Donnie has egg all over his face for letting his best trade asset walk for nothing in return.

here's the thing though, as a GM you can't control what other teams will offer for your players and you always have to do what's right by your team. Should Walsh have signed Lee to a contract starting at $6.5M a year ago? Perhaps. Would David's agent let him sign that contract? Perhaps no. Would his agent let him sign starting at $7M? I think yes. Is it completely unreasonable for Walsh to not have signed Lee? No. He just didn't know the player or his work habits, etc.

So, if another team offers Lee starting at $8.5M, should the Knicks match (with the risk of losing him for nothing)? I say no. that's a lot of cap space for a dude who doesn't play both ends. And he didn't even show flashes or even a little grit for playing team D (as far as I could tell). He seems like the 4th or 5th best player on a really good playoff team, and the Knicks just don't have those other guys, and his salary would hurt us GETTING those players.

There is a caveat. The other teams that want to sign Lee also want to do so at the most reasonable price they can too, and that usually means in a sign-and-trade situation. Which I hope the Knicks can pull off.

Egg on the face? Perhaps to some but not to me.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by martin:

Posted by TMS:

if he does then Lee goes to TOR & we end up w/nothing, & Donnie has egg all over his face for letting his best trade asset walk for nothing in return.

here's the thing though, as a GM you can't control what other teams will offer for your players and you always have to do what's right by your team. Should Walsh have signed Lee to a contract starting at $6.5M a year ago? Perhaps. Would David's agent let him sign that contract? Perhaps no. Would his agent let him sign starting at $7M? I think yes. Is it completely unreasonable for Walsh to not have signed Lee? No. He just didn't know the player or his work habits, etc.

So, if another team offers Lee starting at $8.5M, should the Knicks match (with the risk of losing him for nothing)? I say no. that's a lot of cap space for a dude who doesn't play both ends. And he didn't even show flashes or even a little grit for playing team D (as far as I could tell). He seems like the 4th or 5th best player on a really good playoff team, and the Knicks just don't have those other guys, and his salary would hurt us GETTING those players.

There is a caveat. The other teams that want to sign Lee also want to do so at the most reasonable price they can too, and that usually means in a sign-and-trade situation. Which I hope the Knicks can pull off.

Egg on the face? Perhaps to some but not to me.

Well put. I'd add that even the best run organizations in sports have lost good players for nothing. It happens. The worst run organizations make poor decisions out of fear of losing a player for nothing. Every decision in sports is a gamble. Sometimes you'll lose a good player for nothing even though objectively no decision along the way was a better gamble.

Posted by McK1:

the best executives always get something for their assets.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by McK1:

the best executives always get something for their assets.

Always? highly unlikely.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by Bonn1997:

6 years, $7 mil per year? With a back-loaded contract, my guess is that his salary in the crucial 2010 season would be around $5 or $5.5 mil. That would be a great scenario.

It's unfortunate he became an FA before our crucial 2010 FA season. Tell him that if he takes such a contract, we'll put a player option anywhere he wants in the contract and we'll be able to then give him a max contract extension. He should understand our situation and understand that in the long-run NY will pay him more than any other team. I think that would make the difference if a competing offer he got was close to ours (maybe 49 mil instead of 42 mil) but obviously he's not gonna take our offer if another team gives him something like 60 mil.