Not much has gone right for the Knicks on the basketball court as of late. They have had a handful of losing seasons in a row and have been to the playoff once in the past decade. However, the one bright spot for them the past couple of seasons has been the unassuming David Lee.
Lee goes about his business quietly. I am fortunate to live in the market that allows me to see all Knicks games, and I’ll be the first to tell you that Dave doesn’t necessarily blow you away with anything he does. But he’s just extremely effective. It was nothing short of a travesty when Lee’s nearly 20 points and 10 boards were initially left off this year’s All-Star roster. In fact, that was his third consecutive snub if you’re scoring at home. However, he was invited to participate due to Allen Iverson’s inability to participate, which opened up a roster spot for him (I hate when that happens. That has to be the most disrespectful All-Star invite ever. That has to be a funny feeling being invited that way).
The ambidextrous Lee just finished up his 1-year, $7M deal with the Knicks, making him a free agent. He actually could’ve cashed in big last summer, but the market wasn’t what he or his agent expected. Instead, he returned to play on a 1-year contract. The Knicks only offered both him and Nate Robinson 1-year deals as part of the LeBron Factor (clearing up room with the hope that LBJ comes to The Big Apple).
My gut tells me that Lee is gone. The Knicks plan to sign 2 max players this summer and I don’t think that Lee factors into the equation. I think he’ll demand big money that the Knicks will not be willing to dish out to him. That’s a shame because Lee is one of the top 10 most important players in the league (I didn’t say best, I said most important). The man is a walking double-double machine that can put the ball on the floor, step outside and knock down 15 footers, and run the floor. He isn’t necessarily tough down low, but all of the good definitely outweighs the bad. He somehow became the best player on the Knicks and a clear fan favorite. That may unfortunately come to an end for the Garden faithful, because Knicks GM, Donnie Walsh, appears to be determined to remove every Isiah Thomas acquisition from the roster (Contrary to popular belief, Isiah’s moves clearly improved the Knicks roster from what it was before he got there. They just could not put it together for some reason. But I digress). It’s a shame though, because he may fail to realize that players like Lee are critical in building championship caliber squads. Walsh should resign Lee, and not give a max deal to a guy like Chris Bosh. I don’t think that will happen because Walsh seems poised to make a big splash.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.
