OAKLAND, Calif. — David Lee, ingrained with the Warriors, said he believes the Knicks’ fortunes this season could rise and fall with former Golden State point guard Baron Davis.
Lee, who had 13 points and five rebounds to help lead the Warriors to a 92-78 victory over the Knicks last night at Oracle Arena, said he feels the Knicks did the right thing with its cap-space strategy that led to him joining the Warriors when he signed for $80 million.
“They have two great pieces in Carmelo [Anthony] and Amar’e [Stoudemire] to build around,’’ Lee said before the game. “Now adding Tyson Chandler helps them defensively a lot. But I think a big part of the rest of the season is how Baron Davis does when he comes back from injury. Though Toney Douglas is doing a good job, a big part of what goes on is how Baron does. It will be an interesting year.’’
Davis will be out at least another three weeks. Lee still has his place in Westchester that he annually rents out to a Knicks player. Stoudemire lived there last season and Lee said either Mike Bibby or Jeremy Lin will rent it this season.
The Knicks had many opportunities to lock up Lee, but they wanted to go in a new direction.
“They’ve put together a really, really good team,’’ Lee said. “Their gamble of holding off and saving cap space has turned out pretty good.’’
In his final season as a Knick, Lee made the All-Star Game, albeit as an injury replacement. This season, he’s off to a fast start, averaging 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists.
“It’s absolutely a possibility,’’ Lee said of being an All-Star in the West. “The team stuff will come first like in New York, but if being an All-Star is an opportunity, it would be a great thing to revisit.’’
* Retired coach Phil Jackson has declined a chance to see the Knicks face the Lakers tonight.
His girlfriend, Jeanie Buss, a Lakers executive, had invited Jackson to sit with her, but he felt his presence would be misconstrued. Jackson has been mentioned as a potential successor to coach Mike D’Antoni, who has one year left on his contract.