Posted by sebstar:
Posted by s3231:
This thread almost makes me embarrassed to be a Knicks fan (I say almost because at least a few fans think along the same lines as I do).
No need to be embarrassed. Trust, if Lee had 5-10 legitimate suitors and he knew he could get the kind of deal he's seeking he would be on the first thing smoking and he wouldnt give a damn about NY.
But he doesnt. So far nobody wants to pay what he's asking. So faced with this, he has taken to whining and bitching and some knick fans are calling a spade a spade.
We don't even know what he is asking though, that is the point. And we also don't know if there are other teams out there willing to pay them (aka teams over the cap). Neither Lee nor his agent have come out and said "We want $12 million a year..." None of us know what is really going on behind the scenes, we just have an idea of what is happening.
You call this whining and bitching? I just read all of those Lee articles and I didn't see him bad mouthing the franchise. Yeah, I didn't like the LeBron quote but if I had to guess, I would say that he is trying to justify his contract demands there and not just taking a cheap shot at the Knicks franchise. I say that because he had opportunities to bash the franchise and instead, he said that this was just a business and that he wasn't angry or upset at this point.
I think he is handling the situation pretty well. He hasn't said anything for 3 weeks and the minute he opens up his mouth, people claim that he is crying? That doesn't make any sense to me.
I agree with DJ here, if I had to guess, I would say his agent put him up to this. Even if it was Lee's idea, I have no problem with it. Put yourself in his shoes. You wanted to tryout for the Olympic team and now you can't because you would be putting your future earnings in jeopardy. I don't blame Lee for being frustrated at all. He has been a class act throughout his time here and unlike most of our other players, he actually busted his butt to become a better player even when our team was going in the opposite direction. If you were in his shoes, you would want to be rewarded for that loyalty and hard work too.
"This is a very cautious situation that we're in. You have to be conservative in terms of using your assets and using them wisely. We're building for the future." - Zeke (I guess not protecting a first round pick is being conservative)
