Would folks around here have a different view of D. Lee if he was playing on another team (Maybe one where he only had to play PF and had a defensive 5 to watch his back.) and only seen by us a few times each year?

Sign me up. That would be a very good deal for us and Lee may even get a better deal as some teams will likely strike out in FA and try to use that cap anyway. If/when Lee leaves NY, fans will realize how good of a player he really is. You know, the same fans that thrashed Jamal and Zach when they were Knicks and now are questioning why we ever traded them...

Paladin55 wrote:Just wondering...

Would folks around here have a different view of D. Lee if he was playing on another team (Maybe one where he only had to play PF and had a defensive 5 to watch his back.) and only seen by us a few times each year?

do people have a different view of Troy Murphy, Carlos Boozer or Zach Randolph? i don't think D Lee being a Knick has much to do with it... he simply is 1 of the worst defensive bigmen in the NBA & has never been able to really elevate the teams he's played on... i don't think that's even a question... his skills on offense are not a question... another big that plays poor defense like Amare gets more regard because he's a 5-time Allstar, 1 time 1st team All NBA, 2 time 2nd team All NBA, former Rookie of the Year & member of several playoff teams... when D Lee has put together a resume like that, he'll probably warrant a higher paying contract... until then, it would be a huge mistake for the Knicks to overpay to keep him.

TMS wrote:

s3231 wrote:$70 million over 6 years for a 27 year old all-star front court player that continues to improve each season?

Sign me up. That would be a very good deal for us and Lee may even get a better deal as some teams will likely strike out in FA and try to use that cap anyway. If/when Lee leaves NY, fans will realize how good of a player he really is. You know, the same fans that thrashed Jamal and Zach when they were Knicks and now are questioning why we ever traded them...

please don't generalize... there are fans that stand by their word regardless of circumstances & don't play sentimental favorites one second & switch their stance completely the next... i know they are rare these days amongst all the flip floppers, but they do exist.

btw, i was Jamal's biggest fan while he was a Knick & i fully supported Donnie's decision to trade him & still do. if Donnie signs Lee to that large of a contract i will say he overpaid. if Donnie passes & Lee goes on to put up big numbers elsewhere, i will still support his decision to use his best discretion to intelligently spend our precious cap dollars this summer... until Lee starts to play some defense, he will not be worth near max level dollars.

I apologize if it seemed like I was including you in that generalization because I didn't mean to. You are one of the few that have been consistent around here and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

I just hate that a lot of fans aren't consistent with their beliefs and change their views from game to game. Those are the people I intended to take a shot at.

When I look at Lee, I see a player that has been asked to play out of position and still is one of the better 5's in the league despite of it. Doesn't mean I want him to be our center though as I strongly believe our team would be better suited to move him to the 4 and bring in a capable 5. I think offensively, Lee is so good that he is worth the investment and I think he has shown the work ethic to even get better in the areas he isn't so good at.

That doesn't mean I have a problem with fans that share your viewpoint. I think the points you raise are fair and perfectly valid. Everyone is obviously titled to their own opinion. I just don't get why some fans (and not including you here) point their abuse at Lee when it's the franchise's fault for not putting the proper players around him to win. I mean, the guy has worked harder and harder every season to improve his game and yet, fans still blame him for our struggles. It's insane...

Funny how "Crawful" and Zach are regarded so differently now that they are in winning situations. If Lee was a Cav people would be talking about how this is the first of many all star games and what a valueable piece Lee is to have to their puzzle and why would Lebron leave a team with a good shooter like Mo and a 27 year old 20/12/55% frontcourt point forward type in Lee.

But... just like people once talked about trading down in the draft just to dump Zach's contract, and how awful Crawful was the focus is on what David Lee cant do.

He's much better then Troy Murphy doesnt have the ball handling or passing skills that Lee has. What Lee has done to his game over the last 2-3 is off the charts. He's come up with skills many around here didnt really think were teachable. Either that or he never used them at the NBA level.

My favorite part of the anti Lee posts is I have yet to see where the replacement for his production is coming from. For you guys saying 6 years $70mm (that starts at 9.5mm) is overpaying please mention you suggestions for replacing the 20/12 he puts up every night. Please find me a frontcourt guy that can handle and pass and facilitate an offense. Please show me that guy that will mix up jumpers and scoring in the paint at a 55% rate.

Looking forward to hearing that. I'm guessing we will here a lot of malarky like "the offense will come from other guys." etc

TMS wrote:

Now that he views his mid-range jumper as a strength, Lee promises to focus next on the three-point line. "In practice or summer time he shoots [the three] really well," said D'Antoni.

watching him from earlier in the season i had a feeling it would just be a matter of time until he started knocking down 3's in real game action.

I'm afraid were gonna lose Lee and it will come back to huant us, You wouldn't even be going out on a limb by saying that TMS...This guy keeps getting better,and we keep thinking that gallo and Chandler are the bate, but david Lee is starting to earn BIG time respect around the league and just cant ignore that selling point

Cosmic wrote:

TMS wrote:

Now that he views his mid-range jumper as a strength, Lee promises to focus next on the three-point line. "In practice or summer time he shoots [the three] really well," said D'Antoni.

watching him from earlier in the season i had a feeling it would just be a matter of time until he started knocking down 3's in real game action.

I'd rather defense....................

All LEE needs to do to be a near-max player is PLAY DEFENSE. Any ****ing defense. He doesn't. In fact it seems he purposely gets out of the way at times.

Dude's a 14M a year player on offense, maybe more. He's also a vet minimum player on defense, maybe less.

If we strike out in 2010 you can bet we will re-sign Lee and probably over-pay. Harrington too. You can just see it coming. We are in a Chicago Bulls place right now post-MJ. Tons of money, nobody takes it, so we sign a Jalen Rose to the max (Joe Johnson) and retain Lee and Harrington.

5 Years, 70M sounds about right to over-pay for Lee. Not for me, I don't want to pay him that, but he'll get it.

djsunyc wrote:standards from alot of y'all are way too high. knicks finally draft a guy that plays well and actually makes the all star team but he's not good enough to be re-signed long term b/c y'all only deserve lebron and a defensive mythical stud in the frontcourt. if that's the case, why not just change the channel and root for the lakers and cavs instead - they will give you your fix.

dj, for a Raptors fan you pay an awful lot of attention to what Knick fans think is best for their franchise... it's not wrong for fans of a team to be concerned about overpaying for players who only play on 1 side of the ball... just because we drafted the guy doesn't mean jack... u have to consider the production he gives you commensurate to the money he'll be paid... for a player who only brings it offensively & is a total liability on the defensive side of the ball, 6 years & $70 million seems excessive to me... sorry if that bothers you but this isn't coming from any feelings of entitlement for Lebron James... ur just reaching on that one dude.

TMS wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

TMS wrote:

Now that he views his mid-range jumper as a strength, Lee promises to focus next on the three-point line. "In practice or summer time he shoots [the three] really well," said D'Antoni.

watching him from earlier in the season i had a feeling it would just be a matter of time until he started knocking down 3's in real game action.

I'm afraid were gonna lose Lee and it will come back to huant us, You wouldn't even be going out on a limb by saying that TMS...This guy keeps getting better,and we keep thinking that gallo and Chandler are the bate, but david Lee is starting to earn BIG time respect around the league and just cant ignore that selling point

i think Donnie will have the sense to use Lee in a sign & trade at the very least if we don't end up keeping him... at least, i hope he has the sense to do so... if we let Lee walk w/o getting any compensation back, that's 1 of the biggest boneheaded miscalculations he could ever make, outside of us not landing 1 of the top FA's this summer if that happens that is.

isn't it ok to let lee walk if we end up with lebron and bosh? let's say toronto doesn't want to commit to lee, so bosh gives up the extra year to just sign here outright.

Marv wrote:

TMS wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

TMS wrote:

Now that he views his mid-range jumper as a strength, Lee promises to focus next on the three-point line. "In practice or summer time he shoots [the three] really well," said D'Antoni.

watching him from earlier in the season i had a feeling it would just be a matter of time until he started knocking down 3's in real game action.

I'm afraid were gonna lose Lee and it will come back to huant us, You wouldn't even be going out on a limb by saying that TMS...This guy keeps getting better,and we keep thinking that gallo and Chandler are the bate, but david Lee is starting to earn BIG time respect around the league and just cant ignore that selling point

i think Donnie will have the sense to use Lee in a sign & trade at the very least if we don't end up keeping him... at least, i hope he has the sense to do so... if we let Lee walk w/o getting any compensation back, that's 1 of the biggest boneheaded miscalculations he could ever make, outside of us not landing 1 of the top FA's this summer if that happens that is.

isn't it ok to let lee walk if we end up with lebron and bosh? let's say toronto doesn't want to commit to lee, so bosh gives up the extra year to just sign here outright.

Why let Lee walk for nothing, isn't that why we draft, to gain assets,to stock pile for keepers, or S&T. it's no different then the Celts giving up a beast like Al Jeff and some extras for KG.

Whats the purpose of drafting players who develope into good players, if can't use em or trade em.

i hate 1/2 of my fellow yankee fanbase b/c after 4 of 5 world series, there were about 5-7 years of non stop b tching and fire this guy and that guy. there is no perspective and there is a thirst that's never quenched.

right now knicks fans have that carrot dangled in front of them and that's all they can focus on. if they don't get that carrot then blow the whole thing up. there is no level of satisfaction other than eating up all your halloween candy before bedtime.

not 12 months ago did most yankee fans look as arod as a choke artist and said "we will never win with him on the team". those type of comments are not driven by passion but pure stupidity.