Ric Bucher of ESPN had the following to say about Lee.
“The Jazz have great interest in Lee and are still looking to move Carlos Boozer. There would have to be other pieces involved, but with Boozer’s contract expiring, that would make sense for both sides.”
I know that the Jazz just locked up Paul Millsap at the four spot for $8 million per season. So why would they have interest in bringing in Lee for probably another long term contract worth approximately $8 million per season? It doesn’t make sense… or does it?
The Jazz have built their team with strong play at the 4 spot and with excellent play at the point guard position. The team has been successful over the last two seasons playing both Boozer and Millsap in a rotation with Mehmet Okur. Perhaps the Jazz feel as though they could generate similar success using Lee alongside Millsap. Lee is a Sloan type of player. And at $8 million, if Lee reproduces the type of stats that he has been able to produce over the last couple of seasons, then Lee can be a good value at $8 million per season. If the Jazz try and keep a strong 3 man rotation up front for the future, perhaps this makes more sense. After all, Boozer will not remain in Utah for the long haul. Will there be a better option than Lee next off-season, especially at $8-9 million? If not, then why not just get him now and avoid any competition in signing him next summer.
I am still not sure how strong their interest is in Lee, but it is not as far-fetched as I once thought.
If Walsh can bring in Boozer for Lee and another piece (so long as that piece is not one of our young guys), then he has to make that move. Boozer is the type of player that can bring some instant credibility to the 2009-2010 Knicks team.
Told You Guys…..
I don’t know how many times I have to repeat this. Utah will NOT in any way risk helping the Knicks this coming season with sending them a player like Boozer. They hold the Knicks’ draft pick no matter where it lands. The only way Utah trades with the Knicks is if they pick up DLee in a sign & trade and send garbage back. Maybe it could work of it was a 3-way (and Knicks would receive a young player with upside and/or draft pick and that 3rd team receives Boozer)
The Jazz are smart team if they can get Lee and have two first round picks next year they do it instead of just losing Boozer but still having 2 1st’s.
I don’t even know what to say about this…..
I’m speechless…..
Can Donnie actually pull this off?
I was one of the guys saying we’re not going to get equal value for Lee and low and behold…we might get someone better than Lee LOL!!!
I refuse to believe this…………
This is exactly what we need to someone to pass to in the post when the Three’s aren’t falling.
That would be awesome
but who would we send alongside Boozer?
Everybody over 25 has a contract that wouldnt make it work
Everybody under 25 shouldnt be traded
TRADE ONE OF THE KIDS AND GET OUR DRAFT PICK BACK
I was going to offer up Lee and JJ for Boozer in the Lee/Robinson blog post the other day but took it back after thinking about it and deciding that it wouldn’t work. However, I’m glad to hear that it very well might work out. If it does I’d be happy for Lee and I would be happy for the NYK.
My only trepidation about this trade (without knowing the other pieces) is that Boozer tends to get hurt at least once a season. But if it doesn’t work out, he comes off the cap at the end of the year and that’s an extra $10M of cap space. If it does work out, then we have a legitimate low post scorer and rebounder that makes this team a legitimate threat in the EC.
Let’s get it done Donnie…
Is Boozer really that good?
I know he’s got stats and he’s been on the Olympic team and all but when I watch him…he doesn’t do anything that makes me stop and say “wow.”
Looking at his stats…he could get a very nice payday inflating his stats in the Dantoni system.
boozer is that good. he plays exactly the way the stats show. he’s a good low post player that rebounds well at the 4 spot. there’s a reason why he was selected as one of the players on the olympic team. he’s above-average at best with the only caveat being that he always has some injury every season. but there’s no doubt that he’s a good player.
and you’ve made the point that he can inflate his stats in MD’s system. With that said, the NYK need a low post presence in this offense for it to work. MD would use him in the pick and roll the same way he used stoudemire with nash. Not only can boozer roll to the basket but he can also stick the mid range jumper on a consistent basis.
i like that you’re erring on the side of caution. i’ve been a fan of your posts not only on this blog but others as well. you’re thinking is very analytical.
I got 3 words:
GET IT DONE NOW!
Hang on, thats 4 words……………..damnit!
If we can land Boozer for DLee & JJ we can all hail Donnie Walsh as the smartest man in the history of basketball management!!!
His job still wouldn’t be done with Curry still on the team.
Hold up guys!!!
Let’s not start jumping to conclusions.
We’ve all been here before and we know where it leads.
How many times have we been about to sign someone or about to trade for someone?
Don’t believe it until it happens.
now on this point, i completely agree with you. seeing is believing. get it done DW…
I am checking around the web and it does seem to be picking up steam.
First it was Utah is interested….
Then it was Utah is still very high on Lee…
Now it’s Utah and Knicks in discussions for Boozer and Lee swap….
I’m still not getting my hopes up.
If we can pull this off before the big fight Saturday night…this will be a great weekend.
Wait….JLS…we can’t agree on anything man, don’t be agreeing with me lol.
LOL…
i happen to be a transplanted NY living in the bay area so, i can find ways for understanding while being upfront (and that’s no easy feat).
throw me some links dukes. i’d like to read some more on this. i can’t believe this could actually happen.
As much as this is exciting to hear, it is the flip side of the power of the internet. Someone writes about the possibility of something happening and it is taken an run with until it is reported as a forgone conclusion of a deal being done.
We’ve been stung quite a few times by stories like this.
But, if it’s true then BRING, IT, ON!!!
Alls I am saying is let’s be cautious on this story and wait and see how it pans out.
All we can do sometimes is sit here and pray its true and not some writer running with a little story.
Since we would very likely lose Boozer again as a free agent there would have to be something else involved. Maynor or a draft pick. Otherwise I don’t bite. Lee is too valuable to get nothing longterm for him in return.
I forgot they had Maynor he’s my sleeper in the draft I think getting him would be a great move I would actually trade TD in the deal for Maynor because we would be stacked with PG’s.
I’D LIKE MAYNOR
Via Alan Hahn
Utah has always been an option because of Boozer’s expiring. Question is, why would Jazz add the $$$? Already over tax. Curious.
there would have to be a lot of money or mobleys contract involved.
Would DLee, JJ & Mobley’s contract for Boozer work? Or are we giving away too much?
That’s to much money we’re giving up JP..it would never work.
Boozer makes 12.5 mill this year.
Sign Lee for say 9 mill then JJ is at 6 mill and Mobley is like 8-9 mill.
Lee and Jeffries for Boozer and their pick (not ours) would probably work.
I could be wrong though..I didn’t run anything through the trade machine.
Thinking about it again, I really don’t see how this makes any sense for the Jazz. Lee is a slight downgrade from Boozer and would probably come with a contract similar to Millsap. That would tie up a lot of money in three big men (Okur, Millsap, Lee) on a franchise that’s supposed to cut its payroll. Boozer is gone for sure, but if they want to replace him, they’ve got two 1st round picks in a Power forward heavy Draft to do so. One of them (ours) with a huge chance of being a lottery pick.
This whole thing is probably more wishful thinking of Lee’s agent than anything else.
Just like Lebron, I won’t believe this until Boozer is standing in MSG with a NYK uni shaking DW hand.
Hahn just shot the rumor down.
Oh well..so much for that.
It was fun while it lasted.
I told you don’t get your hopes up.
Hahn didn’t shoot it down he just said the same thing most of you said why would they help the Knicks.
Some of you just don’t get it, WE DON’T NEED DAVID LEE who cares what we get back for him as long as he takes Curry or JJ with him. So what if Boozer gets injured once a season so what, Lee is a asset that needs to be used to move JJ or Curry thats it, I really don’t care what we get back for him.
I would want a 2010 draft pick and a expiring deal but to get back Boozer how is there even a debate his contract is expiring and he’s a all star caliber player legitimately. I don’t know if Boozer gets us in the playoffs but getting rid of Curry and JJ is more or just as important.
I disagree. Who is going to rebound like David Lee for us? Plus, he homegrown, a good passer, he improves on his game year-after-year … and we may be able to keep him at a reasonable price.
Who do you want player the 4 for us?
AL Harrington is a better 4 in this system than David Lee BY FAR its not even close if you Bring in Amare/Bosh you don’t want Lee playing beside him you want some one that can open up the floor. Harrington has the 3pt range that Lee will never have and is a better scorer for this system at the PF position.
What does him being homegrown have to do with anything LOOOOOL Lebron James is not from NY.
I don’t really see a trade scenario for Boozer going down, but for the sake of discussion:
David Lee and Al Harrington, for Boozer, Matt Harpring and our first round pick? I know Harrington isn’t really Sloan’s type of player, but he provides not only a dynamic scorer at the 3/4, but can do so on the road something the Jazz seem to have trouble with. Has Harpring decided if he’s retiring yet?
I just read on Hahn’s Newsday blog that that the Knicks’ (i.e. Donnie’s) plan is to sign David Lee to a one-year deal, for flexibility purposes, and then resign him to a long-term contract in 2010, when the team has a better idea of its cap space.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/the-knicks-fix-1.812055
Resigning David Lee would be the dumbest move in Knicks history !!!
I agree Bart..I think we need to trade him while his value is at it’s highest. Let’s be honest..he’ll never lead the league in double doubles again.
Why not trade him and get something in return…even if it’s just to shed JJ’s contract.
There’s something fishy with this story.
I personally don’t believe talks are even going on.
Then again I have to ask…why would Bucher just make stuff up? He had to get it from somewhere….
Bucher is not the type to just decide to throw a fake story out there….the company he works for doesn’t just allow things like that to happen.
I don’t know…..tricky!!!
If anybody here remembers the Purple Tape from the 90′s…part 2 just came out last week and it’s actually really good.
from the san francisco examiner explaining the jazz thinking:
“Makes sense to everybody except me. The Jazz already have Paul Millsap at power forward. Lee plays the same position, so why on Earth would the Jazz–who have already invested millions in Millsap–even consider this deal?
I’ll tell you why, and you won’t like it, either. Lee would be insurance in case Millsap doesn’t work out down the road, Lee is a player who can do similar things to Big Paul and give the Jazz the same versatility inside as Millsap and that Boozer provided, to some degree.
When the Jazz picked up Boozer in 2004, they didn’t have a capable backup. Boozer was THE guy, and his first two years in Utah met disdain from late owner Larry Miller as Boozer struggled with injuries.
But once the Jazz drafted Millsap in 2006, Boozer’s game picked up to the point where he was named to the All-Star team as a reserve, probably because he could take a breather here and there.
The reason for the Jazz possibly bringing in Lee would be somewhat selfish, but it does make sense from a business perspective. It probably wouldn’t cost the Jazz as much for Lee as it did when the team brought in Boozer.
Is Lee a step up from Boozer? No, but he is comparable to Millsap across the board, averaging about 16 points and 11 rebounds per game last season. The Jazz are obviously looking for big things from Millsap, else they wouldn’t have spent what they did on him this offseason.
Also, a deal for Lee would give the Jazz more big men on the bench, since there have been rumors that the team is shopping center-forward Kyrylo Fesenko.
The reason the Jazz never win titles is they always play it safe. It’s sad to say that the closest the team has ever come to stirring up the controversy pot is when they signed Boozer and we know how that turned out.“
if they want another big man besides okur and millsap then they will simply use one of their two first round picks to do so.
I would think a S&T for Lee has to include JJ with Mobley’s insured contract as sweetener.
Not sure if Just Boozer’s expiring deal coming back is enough though it meets our 2010 requirements. Maybe a third team is involved?
Lee only counts as half whateer his offer sheet is for BYC so it’s
Jared Jefrries – 6.5 in 2009 6.9 in 2010 (total of 13.4mm)
Cutino Mobley – 9.5 m in 2009 80% insured (total of 1.9)
David Lee – assuming 8 m in 2009 (counts as 4 for BYC)
so that’s 24 mm in 2009 trade value
less 4 m for Lee’s BYC is 20 coming back
but Mobley saves 7.6 in sal cap plus lux tax
Mobley’s year one savings offsets JJ’s second year which is why it makes sense to combine the two.
Utah is up against the Lux tax. I keep coming back to Chicago. Maybe they are the third team…
Good stuff. Bout time we hear some rumors with meat. Sharpen the pencil Donnie!!!
I don’t think Chicago would jeopardize the pursuit of Wade. Too bad he’s coming here.
Trading JJ along with Lee means Lee will agree for 6m contract a year. I assume he expects more.
No. Lee’s salary only counts for Half in teh S&T because of BYC rules.
_avi_ Lee is NOT Sloan’s type of player. Jerry Sloan absolutely demands defense, I doubt he would even get much playing time there at all behind Milsap and being such a poor defender.