James A.

How Courtney Lee Will Become the Knicks’ Secret Weapon
On his seventh team in eight years, 30-year old guard Courtney Lee is the two-way player that the New York Knicks have been waiting to have

Since his July signing, Courtney Lee has been relatively invisible in the offseason. Much like his on-court persona, Lee is unpretentious about his long-term contract that’s set to pay him $48 million over four years. He’s earned it, although many may not be familiar with Lee’s body of work and what exactly he brings to The Garden’s troubled back-court history.

At first glance, Courtney Lee isn’t a sexy name that piques your interest. He was a career back up who only began playing starter minutes in Memphis.

Two seasons ago, Lee started a career-high 74 games and averaged 29.5 minutes. He thrived in a system where he was able to create his own shot. While he’s likely a stranger to tennis ball drills, Lee is proficient enough that he can break down defenders.

According to NBA.com, Lee had a 51.6 percent efficiency rate when being tightly defended. Finishing at the rim — a skill that’s been sorely lacking from previous Knicks’ guards — Lee had a 58.4 efficiency rate. That’s better than Arron Afflalo and Langston Galloway.

What makes Lee valuable in Jeff Hornacek’s offense is his ability to shoot from long distance. Hornacek comes with the experience of coaching score-first guards like Goran Dragic and Brandon Knight previously in Phoenix. I don’t think this means that the Knicks will start letting every shot fly, but Lee’s career average of shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc helps push the Knicks forward with the rest of the league as a jump-shooting team.

Last season, the Knicks were among the NBA’s bottom-dwellers in terms of three-pointers. As a team, they completed only 34.6 percent of their attempts. Players not named Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis took a lot of ill-advised shots from beyond the arc. Lee’s ability as a spot-up shooter will fix that glaring weakness, particularly because Anthony has become more willing to defer to teammates.

Of Lee’s 82 three-pointers made with the Grizzlies last season, all of them were assisted. With Lee, Carmelo has another knockdown shooter that can be trusted to shoot the rock when he’s open.

Prior to being traded to the Charlotte Hornets in February, Lee was coming off one of the better statistical months of his career: 47 percent from three-point land while averaging 12 points per game. He continued to be a perimeter threat in Charlotte, despite bouts of inconsistency.

That being said, Lee’s streakiness is his most prominent weakness. When he’s on, he rarely misses. He actively calls for the ball. He works hard to find the open spot on the floor. He’s not afraid to drive to the cup. However, he’s prone to having slumps like the late season game versus Philadelphia, where he shot 1-for-7 in 36 minutes.

What Lee lacks in being able to score 20-plus points per night, he makes up for on the defensive end. At 6-5, he plays long and can see the passing lane the way you’d expect a veteran to. In Charlotte, he played on the wing 26% of his time on the floor which had him guarding the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Although the Hornets lost to Miami in the playoffs, Lee frustrated Wade often. His athleticism makes him relentless as seen in his block against the King of chasedown blocks.

So what does all of this mean for the new Knicks?

Courtney Lee was one of my favorite young players to watch because of how underrated he was. He’s matured into a complete guard playing alongside Marc Gasol and Tony Allen in Memphis. The Knicks didn’t need another big name in the back-court. What they needed was a solid player who can confidently execute his role.

Lee is the perfect complement to the growth of Porzingis while also being able to mask some of Derrick Rose’s deficiencies as a long-distance shooter. He’s a chameleon on the floor offensively and will often be a game-changing X-factor because of his hustle defensively.

Assuming that Rose hasn’t improved his three-point shooting — specifically pulling up from the corners — extra passes will allow Lee a lot of open looks. He’s still pretty agile and quick which makes him capable of leading the fast break for easy buckets.

Overall, Lee’s contribution may not create a lot of highlights but his presence certainly gives the new Knicks a prime opportunity to become a high-scoring offense again.

— James A. Woodruff, site writer