David Lee Willing to Hold Out

[Shapecity]

New York Knicks forward David Lee(notes) is a restricted free agent and it's looking like he may end up being a holdout when camp gets started, according to the New York Post.
If he doesn't sign a contract by Sept. 28, Lee won't be joining the Knicks in camp. Lee's agent has apparently told the team that if a sign-and-trade can't be worked out with another team, Lee is perfectly happy to sign a "reasonable" one-year deal. Seems like the Knicks would jump at this since it wants as much roster and salary-cap space as it can get before next summer's free-agent blitz.

Lee currently has a $2.5 million qualifying offer on the table from the team. There was a rumor that Lee had had a one-year offer between $5 million and $6 million but his agent said that wasn't true.

Team president Donnie Walsh met with another restricted free agent, Nate Robinson(notes), yesterday and the word is that Walsh doesn't want to give Robinson any more than the one-year $2.9 million qualifying offer currently on the table.

Source: NY Post

 

[Rashidi]

The problem with a one year deal is the Knicks won't have bird rights on Lee as a FA next summer, which would affect how much they can offer him (essentially making it a one year rental). And if he signed say, a 9 million dollar one year deal, that 9 million would count towards the cap space unless they renounced his rights. So if they want to keep Lee longer, it needs to be a multi-year deal since he's made it clear he won't accept the qualifying offer.

 

[Shapecity]

The problem with a one year deal is the Knicks won't have bird rights on Lee as a FA next summer, which would affect how much they can offer him (essentially making it a one year rental). And if he signed say, a 9 million dollar one year deal, that 9 million would count towards the cap space unless they renounced his rights. So if they want to keep Lee longer, it needs to be a multi-year deal since he's made it clear he won't accept the qualifying offer.

Correct he'll become an unrestricted free agent and hope to cash in on next year's summer free for all. Unfortunately for David Lee his rookie deal expired in the wrong year and not many teams had the money to pursue him like he was expecting.

The Knicks have listened to other teams willing to sign and trade, but they want to include Eddy Curry and/or not add any more salary past this upcoming season to preserve their cap space.

Nothing favors David Lee at this point. Most teams are capped out, saving space for next summer, and the salary cap is going to drop further making it even tougher for him to get the $10+ million deal he wants.

The Knicks also went ahead and drafted a cheaper, younger alternative in Jordan Hill who has a higher ceiling if he continues to develop and fills out that skinny frame. He has the size to be a true power forward in the league, where Lee is a tweener.

I'm not sure most GMs are convinced Lee is worth the franchise money he's seeking and view him as a solid role player instead. His stats suggest otherwise, he was second in the league to only Dwight Howard in double doubles, but could he produce those same stats playing on a better team and a different system. D'Antoni's run and gun style really inflate a player's production because of the pace.

 

[Mr. J]

Lee was putting up a double-double off the bench before D'Antoni. His stats aren't too inflated. He's just getting more touches now that Randolph, Curry, Crawford, Marbury, etc. are gone.

 

[Shapecity]

Lee was putting up a double-double off the bench before D'Antoni. His stats aren't too inflated. He's just getting more touches now that Randolph, Curry, Crawford, Marbury, etc. are gone.

Yeah he was, but the Knicks have been a lousy team all along. How much do you think he's worth and do you think the Knicks should re-sign him?

 

[Mr. J]

I think Lee is worth about $7M per season, but if Jordan Hill pans out well Lee is highly expendable, if not useless.

Considering Lee (or his agent) want $10M+ a season, I doubt Lee will remain a Knick for long.

 

[Shapecity]

Knicks president Donnie Walsh is confident free agents David Lee and Nate Robinson will re-sign with the team before training camp opens.

"Things are moving along," Walsh told the New York Daily News Tuesday. "Nothing is imminent, but the talks have been good."

Walsh also says he won't consider trading Lee to Minnesota for the rights to Ricky Rubio.

"We haven't spoken to them about Rubio since the day after the draft," Walsh said.

Lee and Robinson are restricted free agents, and Walsh has said repeatedly that he wants to retain both players. Lee had hoped to get a long-term contract worth between $10 million and $12 million annually, either with the Knicks or another team.


Instead, he'll likely have to settle for a one-year contract with the Knicks worth approximately $7 million. Robinson's one-year contract could be worth as much as $5 million. Those deals would allow both players to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

Source: NY Daily News

Spot on with the price MrJ