JULY 8: The Knicks have made it official with Lee, announcing that his deal has been signed (Twitter link).
JULY 2: The Knicks and Courtney Lee have agreed to a four-year deal, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The deal is worth $48MM and it’s fully guaranteed with no options, Michael Scotto of The Associated Press reports.
New York has been looking for a shooting guard to add to a starting rotation that is set to feature Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah. The Knicks were reportedly in the mix for Eric Gordon, with potentially disgruntled Heat star Dwyane Wade lurking as a fallback option, but landing Lee appears to be a more prudent pickup, given his consistent health.
“Excited to be a part of the Knicks and play in the Garden. The fans and city are amazing, and the team is ready,” Lee said, per Kennedy.
After agreeing to a deal with center Joakim Noah, the Knicks were projected to have approximately $12MM in cap space remaining, so Lee may be the team’s latest notable free agent addition. An unselfish two-way player with good shooting ability, the 30-year-old looks like a solid addition for New York.
Lee finished the 2015/16 season with the Hornets, appearing in 28 games after being acquired from Memphis and averaging 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists during his time in Charlotte. He shot .445/.392/.885 from the field for the Hornets.
The Wolves, Kings, Nets and Hawks were all reported to be interested in Lee before he agreed to terms with the Knicks, though Atlanta and Sacramento have landed alternate targets in Kent Bazemore and Arron Afflalo, respectively.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I really like that Knicks team
Now lets get a good bench
Love this deal for the Knicks. Lee plays good D and can hit the three. Great complimentary player and fits in perfectly with Melo and Rose. Curious to see how the Knicks fill out their roster now though
So I accidentally called this a couple of days ago. Good fit for them. Would have been nice to not see them use so much money for an unnecessary move with Noah though. They could still use another wing, and they still have to retain Galloway, who they can go over the cap to keep, but now they will likely also lose Thomas. Should be interesting to see what they try to do
can the Knicks put together a playoff squad though … Cleveland Indiana Boston Toronto Atlanta Miami Charlotte Detroit probably all still ahead of them in the east
Don’t forget the “disrespected and yet best in the world backcourt” of the Washington Wizards and their magical GM who singlehandedly orchestrates an 8 team trade for Demarcus Cousins where Wizards give up a top 55 protected 2nd round picks and become easy championship favorites!! ;)
If they stay healthy, they should be good enough to compete for a playoff spot up until the finals weeks/days of the season. Whether or not they make the playoffs is a different question, but they should at least be a competitive team.
Agreed. There will be a lot of improved teams, but if they stay healthy, the Knicks should be competitive, assuming they fill out the roster the way they should. I think it makes the regular season a little more important. There should be a lot of close games, and those could decide who ultimately gets in
Hard not to like what Phil has done this offseason. Granted Noah is an overpay, but if this all works out they’re a playoff team for sure.
Good deal for the Knicks, but at best they get a 6 seed and lose in the 1st rd of the playoffs in 5 or 6 games. I believe they have used all of their cap space and now need to add minimum salary players to fill out the roster. On the plus side, this might help future free agents from considering the Knicks.