Lee said the Knicks were the first team he heard from at 12:01 a.m. on July 1. The moratorium for signings ended Thursday.
?For them to be the first team to call me, it was a good feeling,?? Lee said. ?I mean, it?s Phil Jackson. It?s New York. You?re playing in the mecca.?
Lee, who agreed to terms on a four-year, $48 million deal, confirmed The Post?s report that Joakim Noah was influential in recruiting him to New York. Lee passed on a larger offer of $14 million per season from the lowly Sixers.
?This offseason, he?s getting out of breath just being on the phone ? like he?s running sprints ? but it?s because he?s talking about the city, talking about the fans, talking about the team and everything we can accomplish together,?? Lee said. ?He?s excited and he was recruiting me pretty much the entire time, telling me that I was the missing piece and what not. He kept telling me, ?Let?s get it done!? Noah was in my ear a lot.?
?We?re contenders, man,?? Lee told Orlando-based website Basketball Insiders. ?They didn?t make the playoffs last year, but we?re looking to change that and win big. The ring is the ultimate goal for everybody on the team. I know it is for me. When they talked to me and told me about the pieces they were adding alongside the players who were already there, I didn?t think anything less than a championship [was the goal]. We?re trying to get the Knicks back into the playoffs and win big.?
