HOUSTON - Put the trade talk involving David Lee to rest for now. The Knicks might be more inclined to try to re-sign the popular forward rather than deal him before the Feb. 19 trade deadline, according to multiple sources.
Lee, the 30th overall draft pick in 2005, ranks fifth in the NBA with 11.2 rebounds per game, has recorded a double-double in 20 of the last 23 games and has emerged as one of Mike D'Antoni's most important players.
Lee will be a restricted free agent this summer after the Knicks were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension before the start of the season. It is believed that Lee, who will make $1.7 million this season, was seeking about $10 million per season in a new deal.
With the focus on having salary-cap space for 2010, Donnie Walsh wasn't inclined to give out lavish raises off a 23-win team. But after watching Lee for almost half a season, Walsh has told confidants that he has changed his mind about Lee.
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"Unless someone blows them away with a trade," one source said, "[Lee] was told the preference is to sign him to a long-term extension."
One way the Knicks - who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday - can fit Lee into the budget and still have potentially more than $40 million in salary-cap space for the summer of 2010 is to trade Eddy Curry, who will make $11.2 million in 2010-11. Of course, Walsh also has to make a decision on Nate Robinson, the team's other restricted free agent this summer.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/ny-spkbox105993880jan10,0,6969922.story