The Knicks’ offseason trade with the Warriors has not done much to help this year’s team, but may pay much future dividends. The Warriors could say the same thing.
David Lee’s first season in Golden State has been underwhelming. Lee has admitted that he was too worried about scoring and let his rebounding slip on the west coast after the Warriors acquired him from the Knicks in a sign-and-trade that paid the power forward $80 million over the next six seasons.
Lee has averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds this season — well below the 20 and 11.5 he was putting up last year with Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks.
“Most of the time,” was the response.
“I don’t know how good he can finish this year. That’ll determine how satisfied we really are,” Riley said. “Overall we’re satisfied. Overall we feel like we have a piece. And I think he can do more things for us. And I think he will.”
The Warriors started 6-2, punctuated by Lee’s 28-point performance in a 122-117 win at the Garden. That was the night Lee’s elbow collided with the teeth of the Knicks’ Wilson Chandler. Lee finished the game, but the elbow became infected and turned into a serious injury that cost him the next eight games — seven Warriors’ losses.
Lee has not been the same since, culminating with him being benched in the second quarter of the team’s win over the Hornets on Tuesday. And the Warriors are in a familiar place, near the bottom of the Western Conference.
The Knicks have had no complaints about their major offseason investment, bringing in Amar’e Stoudemire for five years, $100 million to replace Lee. So with Lee expendable, the Knicks sent him to the Warriors for Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike and Ronny Turiaf. Azubuike has been unable to recover from offseason knee surgery and has lacked the explosiveness that made him a desired asset. Turiaf has provided a solid defensive presence down low, but has been slowed by knee injuries. Randolph, thought to have the greatest potential, has been the greatest disappointment, barely able to get off the bench except in garbage time. But Randolph remains a valuable trade chip the Knicks are hoping to flip as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal, either to the Nuggets or Timberwolves.
Though the Knicks at least achieved flexibility, the Warriors may be hamstrung by the cost of Lee’s contract.
“I don’t know how much adjustment is still going on,” Riley said of Lee. “I’m not disappointed. You always want more out of players in a lot of instances.
“I think he’s probably going to give us a little bit more — but that’s probably speculation on my point.”
What’s not speculation anymore is if the Knicks made the right call by investing in Stoudemire instead of Lee.
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The Devils have received a lot of credit for their recent run that has them sniffing a playoff spot.
The Islanders — and interim coach Jack Capuano — deserve some, too. After starting his NHL coaching career 1-8-2, Capuano and the Islanders — a thin team that has battled injuries all season — have been 16-11-2. Some of that has been with goalies that probably weren’t on the depth chart of their AHL’s Bridgeport team (where Capuano started the season coaching).
A look at the standings shows the Islanders are one point behind the Devils, thanks to a four-game winning streak, and are 13 points out of the final playoff spot. The talent level ultimately is too low to sustain a playoff run, but it’s still a game effort from a team that had a 1-17-3 stretch early in the season.
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I’m not much of a college hockey fan, but the final from Monday’s Beanpot final between Boston College and Northeastern are well worth a watch.
