I just solved the David Lee cap issue! This deads the D Lee trade talks

New New York

Quiet Storm
Two words Gentleman.....TeamOption! We may get our cake and eat it too! D. Lee stays a Knick and we can still be a 2010 FA player.

Ok so we all agree D Lee is worth around 10 million per. And we also all know that if we sign him this jepordizes our cap situation. Unless we make his second year a team option. If D. Lee's second year is a team option The Knicks don't have to pick up that option until after we sign a couple FA's,if we go over after or FA sighnings it means nothing. I mean does it matter if we are over the cap if we accomplished signing say LBJ and Amare or Joe Johnson and Bosh?

Ok so now the small hurdle, David would be taken a slight risk. David would have to really trust that The Knicks will be picking up that option for sure. David is probably looking to ease his mind about his contract situation this off season and this scenerio gives David one more full season before relaxing on the issue. But that is where having a GM with integrity comes into play. If Donnie Walsh assures David Lee his intention is to resign him in 2010, then David Lee can feel good about that. Look Duhon took a two year deal because Donnie told him he wants to sign him after this two year stint.

Look this is the best bet to keeping David Lee on our roster. Trading Curry would also resolve this issue, but, that's not happening this season. Sign David to this sort of deal, and then we can focus on moving Curry next season.
 

JayJ44

Starter
That would be great, but I doubt Lee agrees to that. No matter who promises him, it wouldn't be smart for him. He would be taking a huge risk. What if he were to get seriously injured? Walsh might not pick up his option. It would be stupid on his part to take that risk, you never know what could happen.
 

Oldtimer

Rotation player
Team Option

I believe that the Collective Bargaining Agreement requires team options to be exercised or declined before free agent signings may begin.
 

KBlack25

Starter
1) I don't think everyone here would agree D-Lee is worth 10 million per.

2) It's a good idea, but you forgot one important thing: David Lee has to accept the deal. There is absolutely no way, after Lee is really earning his cash this year by playing well, that Lee would agree to a CLUB option. To say he is taking a "slight" risk is understating the facts almost ten fold. Guys get hurt in this league, why on earth would Lee take a one year deal after he earned his money. Some team out there will do better than that for him, and if we lowball Lee like that he will walk.
 

smokes

Huge Member
Yeah, Lee plays like a $10mil guy in this team but then... look at the guys who are surrounding him. In my honest opinion he's only a decent player and certainly not worth $10mil.

Keeping Lee and Nate would obviously be great but they have to compromise, those 2 players taking up $15-20mil cap space alone is just stupid considering the other possibilities.
 

dre48ny

Rotation player
Yeah that's a tough one. Lee has to take the guaranteed money, not the so called "promised" money. This is why so many scrubs had a stand out season and got offered a crazy contract and they took it. Austin Croshere, etc. There are no guarantees that a year later management has a change of heart.
He has to think about himself like most other athletes cause teams are selfish too.
 

clumsy

Rotation player
I have an idea we trade David Lee for Birdman in Denver. We could resign birdman for MUCH less than david lee due to his legal issues
 

DanL

Rookie
I also don't think you're allowed to sign a player to a deal with a wink wink arrangement that you'll sign him to a bigger deal later...I might be wrong but isn't that what got the Wolves in trouble when they signed Joe Smith to a short cheap deal with the understanding that they'd resign him for more with their bird rights? The NBA docked them like 3 first rounders or something like that. I could be wrong on this...just my recollection. Can anyone confirm?
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I also don't think you're allowed to sign a player to a deal with a wink wink arrangement that you'll sign him to a bigger deal later...I might be wrong but isn't that what got the Wolves in trouble when they signed Joe Smith to a short cheap deal with the understanding that they'd resign him for more with their bird rights? The NBA docked them like 3 first rounders or something like that. I could be wrong on this...just my recollection. Can anyone confirm?

G.M. Mchale was that dumb back then and resigned Joe Smith to an illegal contract and David Stern ripped a new a$$hole threw the Timberwolves for 7 straight seasons of no first rounders. Payback for giving a High School player KG out of the draft an outrageous contract above all the Super Star NBA players in the league.....which would be the cause of a Locked-Out season in 1999.

SF-Granger received an extension contract worth $10M.....If PF-David Lee was on the Pacers he too would've received the same exact contract extension by Larry Bird on the sameday.
The Two players may not have added up to the performance of ex-players PF-J.O'Neal and SF-Artest....but their hustle-energy rebounding-scoring and young chemistry would've been cheaper and just as effective with sound teammates around them to become a 2nd round Playoff team in the East.

It's been said, "You dont know a good thing....untill it is gone." will that be the Knicks and David Lee story...
 
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