Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 12:12 pm  |  21 responses

What About David Lee?

Is Amar’e much of an upgrade?

by Alan Paul

As soon as I heard the news about the Knicks signing Amar’e and all the buzz it generated, I had a simple thought: Is he really that big an upgrade over David Lee?

My friend Jonathan Weiler tackled the same subject, with a lot more thought, on Huffington Post.

Check it here.

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  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Wasn’t he getting traded to the Warriors?

  • http://slamonline.com Alan Paul

    That’s the buzz. I think in a couple of years it will be interesting to look at the two of them and assess.

  • http://www.twitter.com/gerardhimself Gerard Himself

    Stoudemire is not an upgrade over David Lee. If I had to choose between these two, I’d go with Lee, but hey, I’m not GM, what do I know?

  • funkdoc

    C.R.E.A.M.

    I mean, how promotable is Amar’e? The Knicks will just look better with Amar’e, but it won’t change a thing about there record. What Fat Joe said is basically what a lot of people think and how GM’s think: “we always needed that guy who could dunk on people…”. Yeah, that’s gonna bring you a ring… It’s sad that Amar’e gets much more attention because of his athleticism. Without Nash, I think Amar’e will average 20 and 8 next year and the Knicks won’t make it to the playoffs.

    But I gotta say, it’s tempting for Lebron to make a decision. Amar’e and Lebron? Boozer and Lebron? Wade, Bosh and Lebron? I think he should go to Miami.

  • funkdoc

    their*

  • http://slamonline.com JL

    20 and 12 vs 25 and 9. assuming the 3 rebounds end up being worth about 3 pts (either taking away a shot from an opponent or getting extra possession and assuming 50% fg% that’s about a point a rebound), that’s about a wash. but the knicks paid amare 16 mil a year (is it 5 yrs 80 mil). david lee would have come more at 12-13 mil.

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

    Ummm, who says David Lee isn’t athletic? Sheeit, he’s just as good, if not a better dunker than Amare Stoudemire. Did you see dude in high school? David Lee is not the type of guy to leap over people but he is very good with his feet and finishing in traffic. I’ll be sad to see him go…
    Anybody think Lee and Stoudemire can co-exist?

  • rashado

    teddy, i do. i think one of them would have to come off the bench simply because they need a defensive center, i don’t think either of them are defensive power houses (stoudemire certainly isn’t) but i’d love for lee to stick around. if one of them can’t come off the bench, start them both and sub in a true center. they’d suffer defensively but seriously, who could guard a lee/stoudemire front court?

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    David Lee is pretty good.
    He’s a better rebounder than Amare, but not in the same class offensively, contrary to popular opinion. They suck equally on defense.
    Bottom line, no team is changing it’s defensive scheme to account for David Lee, and that’s something Amare has caused for years. David Lee would not average 35 on Tim Duncan even with Steve Nash passing him the ball. Trust that.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I think it’s horrible that people want to adjust Amare’s scoring stats for hooping with Steve Nash, but don’t adjust David Lee’s rebounding numbers for playing with Eddy Curry and the rest of the no-effort Knicks.
    And I respect stats, i really do. But, if you watch the games, Amare is a better player than David Lee when Amare goes all out. The problem is getting him to go all out all the time.

  • EGOT

    Great article. For both Lee and the Suns’ sake, I hope Lee ends up a Sun. He’d play well in the Suns’ system, and would help keep the Suns competitive next year. Above all, I think the Suns deserve a replacement like Lee, after the way Amar’e jumped ship.

  • tavoris

    always a bridesmaid…

  • Roc

    Amare is over-rated. Lee is more talented. Amare has been playing with the best PG in the league all this time. Watch his numbers drop, unless NY can get Parker.

  • http://slamonline.com/ Tzvi Twersky

    And trade is done…

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

    Too late rashado. I’ll be sad to see Lee gone. I guess Donnie Walsh has something against good Knick players.

  • Kyle

    Amare is more of an explosive player at times, but Lee’s won a dunk contest in highschool, and is a far better rebounder.

    If he got to play with Nash, he’d put up 25 ppg and 15 boards a game.

    Either way, the Knicks needed a big name, and they got one. Just wish Lee had gone to the Suns… the NBA is becoming virtually unwatchable these days with LeBron and Wade getting every call.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    People, y’all do realize that both Amare and Lee played with the same point guard as rookies, right?
    Stephon Marbury.
    Go check out their numbers playing alongside Marbury, then consider that Amare came straight out of high school. Look at their progression.

  • http://nationofmillions.ca ciolkstar

    David lee is an insanely awesome fantasy basketball player, and stat producer in general. He’s a fan favorite. And he’d come cheaper than Amare. I can understand why some fans are disappointed but I gotta say that Amare has much more elite level ability and skill than Lee. The past 2 seasons both guys basically ran the same high pick n roll SSOL-type offenses.
    Amar’e is a way better finisher and offensive player in general and Lee is a better rebounder and probably a better passer from the high post.
    They both turn the ball over a lot. Neither guy is above average defensively, but I believe Amare is and can be better than David Lee in terms of defending the rim.
    D’antoni knows what he wants, he made do with David Lee, he wanted Amare back. Next yr he finds a PG, they’ve got some young shooters (Gallo, TDouglas, they drafted the Rautins kid from Syracuse, I think)
    I’m rambling but… Amare > DLee

  • giogolo

    Finally some people talking some sense about the difference of Amare and David Lee.

  • JTaylor21

    What the heck was Steve Nash doing in dallas before he joined with amare the perfect pick and roll player. Not as much. With out amare there to finish 90% of those passes Nash wouldn’t have even sniffed 1MVp let alone 2. Isn’t it a shame that a guy that hasn’t played defensive since the dinosuar age has more mvp than shaq and kobe, more than malone, wilkins, barkley, stockon. I can keep going with the names.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Alan Paul

    Well, this looks embarrassing now.

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