With Hedo Turkoglu heading north of the border, the Portland Trail Blazers have refocused their efforts and it appears they have a former Florida star in their sites. Although David Lee is a restricted free agent, meaning the New York Knicks could match any offer made to him, the Blazers are seriously considering going after him.
Lee had a career year in 2008-09, averaging 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. At only 26 years old, Lee is expected to receive interest from a number of teams. Lee’s agent has said several franchises have already expressed their desire to work out a sign-and-trade with the Knicks for the forward.
Wherever Lee ends up, he’s in store for quite the raise. He made $1.788 million last season and numbers like $50 million over five years have been thrown out there. And rightfully so. Lee has been steadily improving as he’s seen more time on the court.
1 comments:
It's going to be a game of cat and mouse with Lee. Opposing teams are worried that if they don't make a generous enough offer, New York will almost certainly match because of the way they've structured their contracts in the near future.
(Even with $70m+ in salaries now, well over the cap, the Knicks will laugh at the luxury tax.)
But New York also has reason to fear. They're set to have $40m+ in cap in the summer of LeBron. The rumor mill I"ve been hearing says that $60m and 5 might be what Lee's agent really wants.
With the cap left, can they keep Lee, go after LeBron, find a running mate, AND avoid the luxury tax all at the same time?
Eventually, a team like Portland or Memphis is going to break the stalemate, and regardless of what happens, Lee will get his money. His rep is too good to not get a bite.
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