ISIAH NOT WILLING TO DEAL LEE FOR ARTEST

July 7, 2007

David Lee is off the table.

If the Knicks are to obtain Ron Artest in a summer package, they'll have to do it without Lee being included in the package. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Knick president Isiah Thomas has not made Lee available in talks with Sacramento, nor will he in potential future talks.

That would seem to decrease the chances of the Knicks putting together a strong-enough package to get Artest, especially since Kings GM Geoff Petrie is considered a stubborn negotiator.

The Knicks would likely only pony up Lee in a deal for Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett. Lee, who averaged a double-double (10.7, 10.4) last season, is a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.

- Marc Berman NYPost

Did I mention I love David Lee?

It is clear IT appreciates Lee's game more than some people were willing to give him credit for during the season. Giving up Lee for a risky Artest would be a bad move. Keep him as a bargaining chip if Kobe, K.G., or maybe O'Neal become available.

Maybe Isiah should go a different route. People say Kobe, KG, JO etc. How about looking for a pass first make everyone better young PG if we are going to trade Dlee(which I dont wnat to do)

"A person with knowledge of the situation"?

That means nothing. And Isiah has said that he's a liar so who the hell knows.

I really hope Isiah gets Artest. That should be the final nail.

Posted by islesfan:

"A person with knowledge of the situation"?

That means nothing. And Isiah has said that he's a liar so who the hell knows.

I really hope Isiah gets Artest. That should be the final nail.

the person with knowledge is Lee's agent, but that don't mean he wont be traded in the right package in return.

I'm all for not trading Lee for Artest, but Kevin Martin is a different story. Too bad he's probably off the market.

can we swap bibby & marbury while we're out it?

Posted by sebstar:

I dont have much faith in small, rail thin guards...I think the league will catch up to Martin and eventually swallow him up.

like they did with reggie miller and Rip Hamilton?

great move by isiah, artest will be here in a year anyway, no reason to give anything crazy up to get him.

who says lee can't get enough minutes? randolph & curry will each get 35 minutes a game, that still leaves 26 minutes for lee to be at 4 with either of them on the court, plus he can play sparingly at small forward.

that would give him upwards of 30 minutes a game, which would be more than he got last year (avg. 10.7 ppg/10.4 rpg in 29.8 mpg).

also, that means the 3 can be split between lee (lets say 6 a game, giving him 32 mpg for the season), richardson (no more than 25 mpg), and balkman (20 mpg).

granted it'll be a crowded front court but its deep, young, and very good all-around (balkman and lee's hustle, energy, and rebounding makes up for the lack of it from z-bo and eddy)

franco12
Posts: 3049
Joined: 02-20-2004
Member: #593 07-08-2007 07:24 AM
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quote:
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Originally posted by sebstar:

I dont have much faith in small, rail thin guards...I think the league will catch up to Martin and eventually swallow him up.

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like they did with reggie miller and Rip Hamilton?

word is bond to that. martin's gonna be a stud for a while.

>>great move by isiah, artest will be here in a year anyway, no reason to give anything crazy up to get him.

Excellent point BigSmOOve. The best move by Isiah was drafting Lee while everyone else was looking the other way.

If Lee and Zach bond, while hanging out in NYC, this Summer could prove to be one of the most productive in terms of establishing a slightly more feisty team identity.

I'm Spartacus!

Posted by franco12:

can we swap bibby & marbury while we're out it?

You and I are on the same page I was thinking the same thing last night just before I shut the computer off and headed for bed. I want Bibby on the Knicks definitely would be a good move, he can shoot it muich better than Marbury and he just plain fearless. He hits big shots.