Inside the NBA – David Lee Drawing Suitors

Could Toronto Screw Portland Over Again With David Lee?

David Lee is about to become a very rich man, and the New York Knicks betting faithful are going to have yet another reason to hate themselves. Lee, who averaged16 points and 12 boards in a breakout year, is being coveted by nearly half of the entire league. For whatever reason, the Knicks’ Donnie Walsh is refusing to build his team around the 6-foot-9 power-forward, instead electing to field offers for the restricted free-agent.

Portland, the team that lost Hedo Turkoglu, is the front-runner in the discussion for the sole reason that they have money to burn and are pissed about losing out on Turk. Mark Bartelstein, David Lee’s agent, has made no secret about what he expects Lee’s value to be. We’re talking about a six year deal hovering in the range of $50-$72 million here, people. That’s big money, especially for Lee who is entering just his fifth year in the NBA after flourishing as a Florida Gator.

But Portland is getting stiff competition for nearly everybody else in the league. This may be a moot point, considering that David Lee’s preference is to be New York Knick. However, given the market value of a class-act and consistent producer like Lee, the Knicks are going to have to pay a lot of money to match any offer on the table from Portland, Houston or even the Toronto Raptors.

So while Portland is scrambling to make amends for the Turkoglu fiasco, the only certain thing in the David Lee fiasco is that nobody knows whether the Knicks will match an offer put on the table for Lee. That’s why his market value has such a wide range.

Donnie Walsh has made no secret about wanting to go after LeBron James, Steve Nash, Chris Bosh and many others in the coveted free-agent class of 2010. So matching an offer for Lee, which would hurt his cap space, might scare the Knicks betting faithful. The best thing for New York to do, quite frankly, is sign and trade Lee…for Chris Bosh, now.

Think about it. Bosh’s trade value is never going to be higher than what it is now. He’s a soft, complementary player that will never be the true power-forward that he’s expected to be. Toronto loves him, but mainly because he’s a great guy and, quite simply, he’s really all Toronto has going for them. Sign-and-trade Lee for Chris Bosh and you’ve got Bosh joining the Knicks, making them even more attractive for King James come 2010.

Toronto would walk away with a player who would add instant toughness to a soft team, is far cheaper than what Bosh is (Bosh is a $14 million per year player, who will go for the max next summer), and is a glue guy and workhorse – the type of player that Toronto loves in general. Hell, if they can love Matt Bonner, they can get on the Lee bandwagon too. The Raptors would also be able to squeeze some draft picks, and perhaps some other canon fodder and a work in progress, like Wilson Chandler to make the trade work.

Portland is one team that is gunning after Lee, but followed close behind them is a slew of over a dozen NBA teams that view David Lee as the missing link to a championship prize. What New York will do, what David Lee will go for, and how deep teams are willing to go to get him are all up in the air…but if you’re a gambling fan from Portland, then I don’t like your chances.