Berger: Knicks Should Trade Lee

by Tommy Dee on June 25th, 2008 at 7:47 pm

Newsday’s Ken Berger feels now’s the time to move Lee, as he doesn’t fit D’Antoni’s role of a big man.

But other than his contributions on the glass, Lee is a limited offensive player with no jump shot. He has the technique to defend scoring power forwards, but not the strength or quickness. He has the desire to guard threes or fours who are a threat from the perimeter, but not the skills.

The strength of a D’Antoni frontcourt player is versatility at both ends of the floor, something Lee doesn’t have. He’s one-dimensional, and will be exposed even more for it once D’Antoni tries to square-peg him into a system predicated on putting the ball into the round hole.

Easy Ken. A player who produces as much per minute as Lee can play for any coach, but if the idea is the 5th pick, yes it’s time to move him
  • ricksthepick

    I’ve loved DLee since the night we grabbed him late in the 2nd round and I remembered, “Wait, wasn’t that the awesome white guy from Florida who was on top of the scorer’s table with no shirt on after Florida won the SEC Championship?”

    I love his hustle, his attitude, and his tip against the Bobcats. With that said, it’s safe to say he’s probably the Knicks only valuable asset in the entire organization at this point. The lone exception might be Marbury’s expiring contract, which after the fan base has been through, needs to expire under our control, not another team’s. If we’re going to get rid of the albatross that is Randolph and/or Curry’s contracts, we’ll almost certainly have to move Lee in the deal.

    Cap space is the long-term goal and I think it’d be extremely foolish to make any move involving Lee in which we don’t noticeably remove contracts from our ledgers (not to move up a single spot and take Brian Cardinal’s awful contract back). Like Walsh said as his introductory press conference, “We need to be under the cap by 2010.” It should be the Knicks de facto motto for the next 3 seasons, “Please bear with us till 2010.”

  • vino

    I think that I have thought so much about this draft that my head is starting to get numb.

    But let’s say that the Wolves take Mayo and the Heat stick with Beasley. Would anyone be willing to take on Antoine Walker in order to get Mayo (assuming Westbrook goes 4 to the Sonics)? We can give 6/ Rose for 3/ Walker. We would have to eat a brutal contract (about 8 per for I think the next 3 or 4 years), but we would get Mayo without giving up a ton.

    That is probably crazy talk and I think I am starting to lose it. But would anyone do it? Hell, we can do it and buy out Walker. Walker used (USED) to be a good player. He used to be a pretty good three point shooter too for a power forward. He would have fit in well with D’Antoni back when he was 26. Now at 31, I am not so sure.

  • vino

    Actually….. Walker has one more year left, and then there is a team option on him after this year. If the team picks up the option, then they have to pay him 10 mill in 09/10 and 10/11 (no team would ever do that for a bench player). If the Knicks could make that move, I would do that in a second.

  • Truth

    Looks like it doesn’t matter, as Chad Ford in his latest mock draft states that Lee’s representatives sent Memphis a message saying that he didn’t want to play in Memphis, and would not sign a long term contract there when his current one expires…This seems to now be a moot point.

    By the way, I love DLee, but he is not so good that he should be telling teams he won’t play for them. I do not think he’s earned that right yet. But so be it…

  • theghostofwillisreed

    well gee, thanks david!

    there goes that idea. he’s unselfish in every other aspect of his game except now when we’re trying to trade him. think of the team, david!

    it looks like espn has a man crush on gallinari and will stop at nothing to make sure he goes to the knicks at #6.

    THE DRAFT CAN’T GET HERE FAST ENOUGH.

  • bulldog42

    how could you want to trade david lee!!!

    he has been the most consistent player on this team the past 4 years. he shows hustle, hard work, and a great attitude in a league, that frankly, doesn’t really require any of that.

    Do you any of you really think that by trading up ONE pick in the draft will make a difference? I mean I want the knicks to be great immediately too, i’m a new york fan, but i’m also a realist. The cap must cleared before you can start drafting young guys to build a team around. the pass first PG DJ Augustine would probably be the best fit anyway for the knicks. We do not need a another shooter

    David Lee has been the only player that has been fun to watch and root for because you know that he puts his heart and soul into his play, every time he steps on the floor. Please do not trade David Lee

  • theghostofwillisreed

    david lee is a nice player but he is not the player you invest a near max deal on. he is a role player. if he’s what it takes for teh knicks to get better in the long term, then david’s got the steppin’.

  • bulldog42

    i dont think Lee that you need to invest a near max deal on but you ABSOLUTELY need role players. See the Celtics. Leon Powe is basically a stronger version of David Lee. Posey, House, Sam Cassell- you need solid role players to come off the bench and perform their role. Put David Lee in the game he’s good for 8 rebounds in 12-15 min, and 3 or 4 of those rebs being offensive….

  • http://www.theknicksblog.com/2008/07/01/swift-a-possibility/ The Knicks Blog » Swift a Possibility

    [...] By the way we noticed D’Antoni shoot down rumors that Lee isn’t his type of player because “10-10 guys” can play for any coach. [...]