David Lee: Do the New York Knicks Really Need Him?

By Vinny Yeager

The New York Knicks and team president Donnie Walsh are trying to figure out what to do with free agent forward David Lee.

Walsh wants to re sign Lee, but others teams are giving Lee a lot of interest and the Knicks might not be able to compete with those offers. Lee is asking for a good amount of money to play for, and New York might not be able to afford him since they want to make sure they stay under the salary cap for the 2010 season.

Yet, the true question may be, do the Knicks really need Lee to be able to succeed this season and also in the future?

Head coach Mike D'Antoni's offensive system requires all players, including the big men, to run up and down the floor at an up tempo pace. Lee fits that role nicely, but when it comes to the defensive end, he tends to struggle.

Due to the lack of a dominate center on the roster last season, Lee had to fill that role for New York, and it was noticeable that he was playing out of position. He is a true power forward, and when the Knicks would take on a team with a powerful center, he struggled highly.

Although he was the heart and soul of the team, and a fan favorite for the past couple of seasons, the Knicks may be better off going in a different direction with Lee.

New York drafted Arizona forward Jordan Hill in last months draft and also traded for 7'0'' center Darko Milicic, so it means New York is getting stronger in that area.

There have also been reports that Eddy Curry has gotten into much better shape this offseason, and if he can get back to his old form, a long side of Hill, Milicic, and current Knick center Jared Jeffries, New York might not need Lee to stay around.

Lee has been getting a lot of interest from the Portland Trail Blazers, who have lost out on some big name free agents, including Hedo Turkoglu, who decided too go to the Toronto Raptors.

Resigning Lee would be good for the Knicks, but if the two parties don't come to a deal, New York should not be heart broken if he lands somewhere else.



*Originally published by myself on http://www.bleacherreport.com/