David Lee Leaving the New York Knicks?

David Lee may be on his way out of New York, according to reports. Lee has been with the New York Knicks for four seasons, but really made a big impact this past season. In his first three seasons, Lee was primarily a bench player, who helped out mostly on defense. But this past season, Lee took on a much bigger role, starting 74 of the 81 total games. Lee set new career highs in points per game (16.0), minutes per game (34.9), steals per game (1.0), assists per game (2.1), and rebounds per game (11.7). Lee also had ten consecutive double-doubles last season, and led the league in double-doubles.

Lee is a power forward who became an instant fan favorite during his time in New York. He is currently a free agent after his contract with the Knicks expired this past off-season. The Knicks president Donnie Walsh has said that the team would do everything in their power to bring back Lee for next season and beyond. They have made a five-year contract proposal to Lee but Lee and his agent are reluctant to accept the offer. The Knicks have offered him about $7 million to $8 million a year but are reportedly going to pull back the offer next week, so Lee has to make a decision soon.

The team that is most interested in Lee are the Portland Trail Blazers. If Lee does not sign with the Knicks, he is most likely join the Trail Blazers. After losing the Hedo Turkoglu sweepstakes to the Toronto Raptors, Portland turned all their attentions to David Lee. They have been in serious talks with Lee but have yet made him an offer. The Blazers are likely to offer Lee a contract for five years, worth about $50 million. The Knicks might be forced to match this offer if they want to keep Lee.

Lee was originally drafted 30th overall by the Knicks in the second round. Lee, at 6-foot-9, immediately made the Knicks better defensively, and as they would find out, offensively as well. Lee has improved every season with the Knicks, in almost every category. With the way Lee is constantly improving, he will be a full-time starter soon and possibly could be an All-Star in a year or two.

The free agent Lee seems to have only two options currently on the table. Unless another team joins the equation, Lee will either sign a new contract with the Knicks or sign a contract with the Blazers. Lee is still very young at 26, and has probably about ten more years in his career.