Posted by kam77:

Posted by King1:

How can you ever say Lee is greedy they let him get to RFA this is a business now it is time to get paid.

I said "IF" he gets greedy.

It doesn't matter because as has been stated Lee is not a franchise cornerstone. Then there's 2010 to consider. Teams won't blow 10M+ cap to sign Lee only to take themselves out of the 2010 sweepstakes. It most certainly would. That leaves a select few teams that can sign Lee and try to go for a 2010 player. That includes us who he likes about a small handful of teams I don't think anyone wants to play for.

So you put this together and we stand a good chance to offer Lee a modest contract. If he wants to go the offer sheet route that's fine too. I think in the end Lee isn't going to get what he wants. You know 13M+ a year. If he does then well, see ya Lee, best of luck.

I think all things considered we're really in the drivers seat much more than some want to believe. 2009 is a tricky offseason - not many teams have space - most aren't attractive places to go - and those same teams are going to be wary to blow their space because of what 2010 has to offer. That puts US in the driver seat!

Regardless, there is one other thought here: If we do lock up Lee that means we really better get LeBron or at least Wade in 2010. Why? For Lee seems to beast next to guys like Chandler, Harrington, Curry. But what about next to Zach? Nope. What he did next to Zach might be what he does next to Amare or Bosh you know - even though those two are much better team players it still could happen that way. If it were then we've overpaid for and locked ourselves into not just Lee but a front court of players that doesn't match right.

We have to be careful there as well.

I'm pretty confident this takes care of itself though. I'm just not worried about it. Walsh isn't going to overpay for Lee and I'm not so sure any other team would either given the whole 2010 circumstance and given who in 2009 can offer him a large deal.

Just sit back and let it play out....we have so much flexibility now and enough young promising kids that we like... that it's not a high pressure situation.

Posted by kam77:

Posted by King1:

I want Lee to stay in NYC. He loves the city, he has done the right things, and I want him to be there when they turn the ship around. I also want him to get paid fair market value and nothing else. I just think it is easier to sign one max player than two and I want the Knicks to win. I have been a fan for four years and my head is about to explode I cant imagine what it is like for fans for the last 8 years.

Disagree here. Its easier to sign LeBron if you can also get Bosh.

that's how i feel as well... u can refer to the "no 2 bigname FA's have ever signed w/the same team in the same year" argument but when was the last time that 1 of the cornerstone NBA franchises had the cap space to offer 2 max FA's a contract in the same year? i can't think of a year when that's happened... & even if it has, i think 2010 will be a unique opportunity & we have to at least keep our options open to take full advantage of it that year regardless if we can land those guys or not... at the very worst, we will be able to sign 2nd tier guys that are still better players than D Lee to contracts that year, or u can wait til 2011 for the other bignames to hit the open market... if D Lee would sign at a discount to stay, which is unlikely, then fine, u lock him up & then worry about freeing up dollars later, but if u don't think u can hold onto him at a discount u MUST trade him now while u can get value for him because he's not worth sacrificing the chance to sign any 1 of the bignames in 2010... people said the same thing when Zach was dumped "Oh, who's gonna be left to play w/Lebron in 2010? if we trade Zach & Jamal no one's gonna want to come here"... i think it's fair to say this team is doing just fine w/o those guys & IMO they'll be able to make due w/o D Lee too if it comes down to it next season... we still have to explore what Gallinari can give us & Wilson Chandler is improving into a very solid player already, plus Al Harrington has been playing his butt of since he's gotten here... as much as i love David Lee it's not the end of the world if he's not on this team after this season, we just can't let him walk away for nothing.

Posted by Cookdcokehop:

If David Lee gave me ONE block per game I would sign him to a Max contract

i didn't know you posted on these forums Isiah.

Briggs... thats not a prob. 6/60 starts at $7 which fits perfectly into our cap scheme.
7,8,9,10,11,13

If Lee wants to play in Memphis because they will frontload a contract then fine.

Also remember:
You can add an opt out and we would have Lee's Bird rights and could resign him. If he's a max player then opt out after 2-3 years and we will give you the max. Knicks always pay.

Also.. Lee WANTS to be here. He has some motivation to make it work. This isnt Glen Robinson and Bucks

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by fishmike:

Briggs... thats not a prob. 6/60 starts at $7 which fits perfectly into our cap scheme.
7,8,9,10,11,13

If Lee wants to play in Memphis because they will frontload a contract then fine.

Also remember:
You can add an opt out and we would have Lee's Bird rights and could resign him. If he's a max player then opt out after 2-3 years and we will give you the max. Knicks always pay.

Also.. Lee WANTS to be here. He has some motivation to make it work. This isnt Glen Robinson and Bucks

I think that if Memphis or another team wants Lee they will frontload a contract and put the pressure on the Knicks to sign it--more like

12-12-8-9-9-10 Doesn't this make strategic sense if you are Memphis? Then the Knicks just have to match the offer.

are we talking about the same Memphis team that D Lee refused a trade to in the offseason because he had no intention of signing there after this season?

Posted by King1:

TMS you have no idea what you're talking about. Lee or his agent never said anything about not going to Memphis.

nevermind, i got it confused w/the T'Wolves... my mistake.

Posted by joec32033:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by King1:

TMS you have no idea what you're talking about. Lee or his agent never said anything about not going to Memphis.

nevermind, i got it confused w/the T'Wolves... my mistake.

TMS you're right.

Agent Told Memphis Not To Trade For Knicks' Lee?
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Jul 14, 2008 5:53 AM EST

David Lee is nervous that his time in New York may be coming to an end, but he does understand it is a business.

According to the New York Post, after meeting with Coach Mike D'Antoni for lunch, Lee found out the reason his name keeps appearing in rumors is because the Knicks are trying to move Zach Randolph, and Lee would be included to try to entice another team into taking Randolph's large contract off the Knicks' hands.

Before the NBA Draft Lee was close to being dealt to Memphis in a trade which would have landed New York the Grizzlies' first round pick, #5 overall.

Lee did not deny his agent Mark Bartlestein before the draft advised Memphis not to trade for him because Lee would never sign a long-term contract with the Grizzlies.

"I don't know what happened on his end," Lee said. "His job is to represent his players."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53570/20080714/agent_told_memphis_not_to_trade_for_knicks_lee/

I KNEW IT!

McGee and Thompson are rookies that were taken after the Knicks picked. Lee isn't a center but he is a very good ball player and can fill that role in D'Antoni's system. D'Antoni played Diaw at center quite a bit but he isn't a center either.

David Lee is a pick and roll player. He gets garbage points off the miss shot. If David Lee takes three 12 footers you are jumping up and down. Wilson Chandler is asked to shoot the 3, take his man off the dribble (whether you want to acknowledge it is personal issue you have) and get his mid game on. David Lee gets 4 more rebounds than Eddy Curry but scores less. They both play horrible post defense. Once David Lee gets $10 million a game, his flaws will grow (See Austin Croshere and Reggie Evans). BTW, let's measure Lee after the upcoming game against the Celtics who just happen to defend the pick and roll well. I don't think it is a coincidence that he struggles in those games.

When no other team would give Lee guaranteed money the Knicks did. Lets see some loyalty.

When Zach was here grabbing boards, scoring 20ppg and getting double-doubles David Lee was playing like an MLE player. That trade was the best thing that happened to him and nate. If Walsh knew he was going to make those trades he's an idiot for not locking up at least one of Nate and Lee sooner. Maybe he really does intend to trade one of them.