NBA / Jul 1, 2009 / 11:34 am

The Knicks Might As Well Spit In David Lee’s Face

By

David Lee

If you can’t sign ‘em, Donnie Walsh must believe that you might as well insult ‘em. After averaging a career high 16 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, the Knicks are apparently only prepared to offer David Lee a four-year, $32 million deal.

To me that’s crazy. I understand teams not wanting to overpay for marginal players, but Lee was the third leading rebounder in the NBA last season and the heart and soul of the Knicks. While it appears the going rate (at least in Lee’s mind) is $10 million a season, it seems no matter how much Knicks fans love D-Lee, money also cheers louder.

“There’s no question he’d love to stay in New York,” Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein told the News’ Frank Isola. “But you are only a free agent so many times in our career, especially in the prime of your career.”

And teams with money that they’re willing to spend will eventually win out. If the Knicks are smart, they’ll pull off a sign-and-trade with either Lee or Nate Robinson rather than letting them walk away for nothing, and it appears Portland, Detroit, Oklahoma City and Memphis have the most interest in the power forward.

What do you think will happen?

Source: Daily News

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  • http://www.knicksfan.net Dan L

    @ Paul,

    Aside from just minutes Lee you have to take into consideration possessions per game/minute.

    The Knicks (and their opponents) had more possessions per game/minute this year than any previous year Lee played in.

    The more possessions per game or per minute, the more opportunities Lee has to get a rebound since there were a lot more shots (and misses) jacked up.

    In real terms I think his rebounding went up less proportionally than available rebounds did.

  • paul

    … and Dan L–the possessions per game don’t seem to have increased dramatically, if you want to break it down that way. Here’s a link–compare and contrast with past seasons: http://www.82games.com/0809/0809NYK3.HTM

  • hahns

    i cant believe this kid is saying nate is irreplaceable….

    only time he watches nate is probably when hes on espn and all star weekend.

    nates a great player, dont get me wrong, but he does not play in control, and hes mostly just a scorer. as i said in my previous post, hes a great energy guy off the bench- very effective, someone boston could use. but of walsh needs to decide who is more important to the knicks’ future, its lee all day- its seriously a no brainer

  • paul

    Dan–i’m starting to see that this possessions per game breakdown of Lee’s rebounding stats is a little bit out of control. Although its a legitimate point you are trying to make, I have a feeling that its pretty crazy to break it down to such fine detail. the fact remains that Lee’s rebounding numbers indeed did increase, and in particular, his defensive rebounds per game increased by 2.6 per game from 07-08 to 08-09, so I would say that probably exceeds the possessions per game point you are trying to make

  • http://www.knicksfan.net Dan L

    Possessions per game increased 5 according to that website.

    FGA/game increased from 82 to 86.

    Opponents FGA/game increased from 82 to 86 as well…looks like a net 8 shot increase per game. Less than I was expecting. So you could be right.

    At any rate you’d hope that the Knicks wouldn’t spend any extra money than they think is worth for 1 or 2 additional rebounds per game.

  • Coop

    Yeah 8million pounds per season to play basketball is a real insult. The guy can’t defend you bunch of clowns and he stands out only because the team is so awful. 8mil is right on the money (excuse the pun). Lee is no pivot project.

  • Coop

    *dollars*

    Sorry.

  • paul

    Coop–You’re right, his 17 ppg and 11.7 rpg are completely meaningless statistics because the Knicks are the worst team in the history of basketball.

    I canlt believe you wasted your time with that moronic comment.

  • http://bt.davka.info/ SparkyJ23

    32 million dollers in this economy? grab it and shut the fuck up

  • weng santos

    I can’t believe how full of themselves NBA guys can be.

    Somebody wants to pay David Lee 8 million dollars a year for four years to play basketball in one of the most historic arenas for one of the most storied franchises in a great city like NY, and they want to give him that money in one of the worst economic slumps ever.

    How’s that spitting in someone’s face?

    Really? You can’t tell me Lee can’t live- and live luxuriously, I might add- making 8 million a year. This is just crazy. Can he honestly look in the mirror and say to himself that it’s not worth it to play basketball for 32 million?

    As a fan of the game who has a hard enough time scraping the $140 together just to see the visiting Nuggets play at Staples for 1 game, riding the bus just to get to Staples in the 1st place, and who can only dream of working hard to make even a tiny bit of what these guys make, I’m actually the one that’s insulted that an athlete finds $32 million insulting.

    Babies.

  • Jah

    Sign and trade.

  • the cynic

    8 mil seems pretty fair to me. Lee isn’t worth more then 8 mil and no team is going to offer him 10 mil. Everyone knows Lee’s numbers are heavily inflated and his game is very limited. David Lee is solid, nothing more nothing less. Do the smart thing Dave and take the money, and try to get the Knicks to tack on an extra year

  • nick c

    cynic u summed it up perfectly. stole what i was about to say. INFLATED numbers with no other real big men in a knicks uniform that were good. yeah harrington but i think of him as a small forward and not a rebounder

  • ?

    SMH shows how greedy people are you give me 8 million per to be on a team i love playing the sport i love im signing on the dotted line

  • ?

    SMH shows how greedy people are you give me 8 million per to be on a team i love playing the sport i love im signing on the dotted line. He is a solid player but he isn’t worth more i would have offered him 6 million per year

  • shawn

    we all love lee for 2 reasons: double-doubles and sentiment. Defense is NOT ONE of the reasons. he’s a great piece on the right team. The knicks is not the right team this year. maybe in the next year or two, he is the right fit. But right now, he is not worth more than 8 mil per. Donnie walsh has it right and doing the only thing he can do. Pure and simple. The only other option is to match any offer and then TRY to trade him at a good value, which could backfire. Sign and trades are always at risk of not working out. If he signs him for 8 mil MAX, then wouldnt a trade be much easier?

  • Moneybaga

    @dk
    Why don’t you hop off nates dik? Once in a lifetime game changer? Nate is a spectacular player but he is no different from someone like ben gordon. Nate has great offensive ability but he’s nothing more than a scorer, very similar to earl boykins. Once nate’s athleticism starts declining or god forbid he has an injury, his production will start dropping exponentially. I personally don’t even care whether the knicks sign David lee or not, but to say rebounders are easier to find than scoring guards in the NBA is complete bullshit.

  • HISTORY LESSON

    pistons got charlie v and gave him 35 mil for 5 years so go figure and hes a way better talent than david lee

  • Paul

    His numbers are NOT inflated. It’s just not correct to say so

  • Sweet English

    Paul we can all look at 82games.com, itn doesn’t make you special.

  • http://www.huh.com mike

    i think knicks should sign and trade him to portland for steve blake and travis outlaw. They are great players and would really help our knicks. david lee suckkkss over priced!! drop him off in portland and grab two valuable players. i really like it

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