Free agent David Lee, the Knicks’ first 20-and-10 player since Patrick Ewing, already is marketing himself for the summer.
Lee believes the next dimension to his game is adding a 3-point shot. “I like to lengthen out my jump shot to be a 3-point shooter,” he said.
“Not saying I’ll be [Danilo] Gallinari out there. That won’t be the focus of my game, but I hit two shots [Wednesday in Toronto] with my heels on the line. I think I can be a decent 3-point shooter. I think that’s the next step.”
The next step could be out of New York if things play out a certain way.
Donnie Walsh would not give a commitment yesterday to Lee’s return. Lee is not Plan A, but if things don’t fall right, he definitely is high on their radar. However, Walsh knows Lee will be heavily pursued and another team could jump in with a big offer. The Knicks may not be ready to pull the trigger.
“He had a great year,” Walsh said. “The two summers I’ve been here, he’s been in the gym, working on his jump shot and he’s gotten to be a better outside shooter. If everything will fall, it’s a great option to have. The other end of the spectrum, he’s going to get offers. That’s going to play into it.”
Lee did not sound as if he is ready to give the Knicks a hometown discount. The feeling from the Lee camp is he has given them a discount the past five seasons, including his latest one-year, $7 million contract.
“No ill feelings coming from the last two summers, but there’s been a chance twice to take care of that,” Lee said.
Lee also added on ESPN Radio yesterday, “The Knicks need to do what’s best for the Knicks, and David Lee needs to do what’s best for David Lee.”
Lee is a weak interior defender and has been a member of five straight losing teams, so re-signing him is not a no-brainer despite his gaudy numbers (20.2 points, 11.7 rebounds). Walsh only wants to re-sign him at power forward, so he will have to add a center such as Marcus Camby to play alongside him.
“When I was in Indiana we had Rik Smits and he couldn’t guard anybody,” Walsh said. “It was amazing when we got the Davises [Antonio, Dale] how good we got. You have to put players on the team to complement the players you have.”
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The Knicks have five guys under contract for next season and that includes Bill Walker, whose final year at the minimum becomes guaranteed Aug. 1.
The Knicks could cut him to open more cap space, but feels if he loses weight, he can be a fixture off the bench.
Walsh said he wants Eddy Curry to not just work on his weight this offseason but actually play basketball.
Curry has played in 10 games in two seasons. Walsh said he doesn’t want him to play summer league, just pickup.
“There are games going on all over the city, he should start getting into that,” Walsh said.
The Knicks want to bring back 7-footer Earl Barron, who averaged a double-double (11.7, 11.0), so Curry is low priority and he is viewed as a trade pawn.