Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 12:15 pm  |  21 responses

A Letter To David Lee

Peace, D-Lee. It’s been real.

by Christian Waterman

Dear David Lee,

In the most hetero way possible, parting is such sweet sorrow. At the beginning of this tumultuous offseason, I hoped to see you form the most dynamic of pick-and-roll duos with one LeBron James. In expressing these views to fellow fans, I was told that signing Amar’e or Joe would be more of an attraction to the Chosen 1/3rd. Of course I did not want to believe, after hearing that you’d been working on your 3-point range, that you may be suiting up in colors other than royal and orange. I didn’t want to believe.

When STAT announced “The Knicks are back!” it all but sealed the envelope on your Knicks tenure. Like the thousands of other Knicks fans that have followed your career since 2005, I was devastated. In a time of absolute destitution, you and Kryptonate showed youthful exuberance, displaying grit and heart on a team that tragically lacked it at times. I’ve never seen you dog it, attacking the boards because it was the right thing to do; I’ve never seen you complain to coaches, or have any of the attitude issues that plague some of the league’s finest.

Mr. Lee, thank you. Thank you for that tip-in versus the Bobcats. Thank you for that ridiculous triple-double against the Warriors. Thank you for your ambidexterity. Thank you for developing your jumper. Thank you for posting and toasting, wheeling and dealing, dishing and swishing, spinning and winning (well, not too much winning–Ed.). Thank you for being an All-Star center, as your full potential will only be unlocked as a power forward. Thank you for putting up with the losing, giving us someone to look to as a bright spot in a dark abyss that has been the last decade in Knicks history.

As Mr. James took his plea deal instead of fighting the good fight on the road to becoming a basketball legend, word arose that you would be heading to the Yay. I thought of two things–one, Donnie Walsh is a wizard and two, what if we hadn’t gotten sniped in last year’s draft and Steph Curry was our starting point guard. Obviously we’d be looking at much different picture, like maybe LeBron decides not to start chasing rings at 25 and realizes his potential for greatness as a Knickerbocker. Maybe the core of Steph, Gallo, Bron, and yourself with young talent like Bill Walker and TD is enough to put one in the rafters for 2010-11. But such is life.

The Knicks seem to be on the rise, and it sucks that you won’t be here to participate in the resurrection. But as you “take your talents” out west, to join another rebuilding mission, the fans there should know that you’re already a warrior. It’s been a great run, and now even more people will get to witness the workman’s mentality and skill set that can propel you to become an all-time great. It’s players like you who make this thing worth watching, worth investing time and money into, because we’re getting something in return.

The day after, I didn’t take to the streets to burn my David Lee memorabilia. I wore the #42 with pride on that day, a proper sendoff for a player who did everything he could to win, even when winning seemed illogical. One game juts out in my memory, the tough road win against the Sixers as you played through the pain (R.I.P. E. Desmond Lee) and hit the game-winner. It’s just one of many examples of how you helped restore us to relevance after being a laughing stock for too long. It’s doubtful that I will become a Warriors fan just because of this trade, but I’ll be watching.

Play well, Dave. We’ll all be watching.

Sincerely,
A True Knicks Fan

David Lee.

-

Christian Waterman is a rising sophomore at UMass Amherst, where he is a double major in Sport Management and English. Christian is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, and a die-hard Knicks fan, so life’s rough. Check out more of his work at writethefuture.tumblr.com.

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  • riggs

    great corresponding picture

  • ann

    Very emotive. A true Knickerbocker

  • lucci

    True warrior. We will miss you greatly.

  • Ravi

    Great article and very good point on what if the knicks were able to draft curry. As a Yay resident, the triple double game was great to watch and I am glad the Warriors got him.

  • C Money

    Well said! David Lee was a TRUE KNICK and will always be given his due at the Garden. I felt compelled to comment because this is my way of appreciation for a player who deserved to wear the orange and blue. And in closing he is more worth the money than Amare and will have a better season than Amare. Too bad for us NYers and more losing. :(

  • http://SLAMonline.com GotHandles?

    ..tear :(

  • KnowItAll

    David Lee is going to be missed. He played hard everytime out and it was a pleasure watching him work on his game to become the player he is. His game is only going to get better and it sucks that he’ll be doing his thing for the Warriors instead of the orange and blue. Thanks for the memories David Lee and good luck in Golden State.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000580635564 Bryan

    *slow clap*

  • http://www.wunmic.tumblr.com viiheaven

    #NT I reposted your write-up on my Tumblr page. It was heartbreaking to read this. I wrote my own little tribute to David as well. I’m glad to have witnessed to have seen him play first hand and in person. He is greatly appreciated and I hope to buy some tix to see him when the Warriors are in town to give him a standing ovation.

  • Rich

    Well said Christian,

    It’s a shame when the knicks organization lose a fundamentally sound, hard-working and dedicated player who is a Warrior already…Ewing, Charles Oakely, Mark Jackson, and now David Lee will be regarded as a Knick Warrior who gave his all. NBA is a business, obviously Dolan and Walsh are in the business of making money, not championships. I’ve always been critical of my team and the direction their taking this team. Now I can clearly see they don’t care about the hard-working players who can make a team and franchise better and relevant. I may be a Golden State warrior fan by this October. What incentive is there to be a Knick fan now?

  • http://slamonline.com Christian Waterman

    Thanks Mo, and I feel you dog. It’ll be surreal to see him in another jersey especially at MSG. That dude…#NT

  • hushabomb

    Its funny that a guy who has worked on his game relentlessly whilst playing in the worst situation will now be forgotten for Amare. Gallanari, Amare and Lee would have made an awesome front line. New Yorkers love players who play with heart and dedication. Lee has it in spades and the only thing he got from D’antoni and the Knicks was a hot cup of Jack S***. I used to love the Knicks, I can’t any more!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    cant wait to see lee and curry

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Lee was great for the Knicks, and it really p!sses me off the way D’Antoni and Walsh treated him. Good luck in Golden State next year, David, and make sure you kick my favorite team’s @ss extra hard when you play us at MSG. F*ck yes, I’m rooting for David Lee when he plays us.

  • Richie

    Kudos on the article. I read that there was concern with Lee’s defense being the main reason for the trade. And to rectify that they get Amare, who quite possibly has less defensive intensity. Your New York Knicks ladies and gentlemen.

  • CARTEL

    I’ll be watching Golden State games attentively due to the homie D. Lee being there…I’ll support D. Lee for the rest of his career and he deserve that much because he’s been more than just dedicated to us New Yorkers!!!!!

  • Papa Smurf

    I lived in NYC from 2005 to 2007. If it weren’t for David Lee and Jamal Crawford, I wouldn’t have watched a minute of Knicks basketball. Instead, I watched most of the games just to root for those 2 guys. It certainly wasn’t their fault the Knicks sucked.

  • CP

    “like maybe LeBron decides not to start chasing rings at 25 and realizes his potential for greatness as a Knickerbocker”

    Why are Knick fans mad a LBJ ,HE NEVER SAID HE WANTED TO COME TO NY ,The NY media and James Dolan did that.So why don’t Christian Waterman and the rest of you bitter ass Knick fans send all your build up venom to the PPl responsable for all the HAte N ur blood.

  • http://slamonline.com Christian Waterman

    @CP You’re sadly mistaken fam. I don’t have any hate in my blood for LeBron, but it sounds like you have some BUILT up venom for something I can’t quite determine. Fall back because you misunderstood what I said. Bron is stunting his growth playing in Miami, so you can swap out Knickerbocker and put in Cavalier, Net, or Clipper to get what I was saying.

    Thanks for reading tho.

  • http://abasketballdream.blogspot.com A Basketball Girl With A Basketball Dream

    I’m planning a “A Basketball Dream – Ballin’ USA” trip next year. And my plan is to make it down from NYC to Miami. Because of your article, I would like to arrange my trip so I can see a match of David Lee (i mean GSW) againt the Knicks…:) Thanks for that. I feel the “LOVE” :) p.s. feel free to check out my blog :) )

  • Team USA 2010

    I remember first seeing LEE in the mcdonald’s high school slam dunk competition which he won with an over the shoulder take off the jersey dunk haha. i’m from ny and i didn’t like the knicks (again until this year) what was good to see were ur emotions from broken down defenses where u picked u fouls trying to d someone elses man. i didn’t think that u and coach mike deserved the torturous losing. but u did deserve all star selection and u also deserved a brand new start. thanks for playing smart, tough, and being a class during the “rebuilding era”

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