15/11/2 57% FG. He has also improved his jumpshot tremendously and has been averaging 16/13 since the Zach Randolph trade.
It's going to be interesting how this upcoming free agent is treated. I don't think these players are going to see anything close to the contracts recently handed out. 1. The economy is in a slump and the economic impact could actually shrink the salary cap available to teams next season. Typically we expect the salary cap to increase each season, but next year they are predicting it could decrease because revenues are down across the board. 2. Teams are trying to position themselves for the big name free agents in the 2010 class. LeBron, Wade, Bost et al David Lee has been tremendously efficient the past two seasons and his PER is off the charts. However, teams wonder if he can be this productive on a winning team and they don't see much of a ceiling for him. He also doesn't have a true position, which is fine for the regular season, but in the post season his deficiences would be exposed and exploited in a 7 game series.
Lee has been fine playing PF. I also disagree with the assessment of his low ceiling. Every year Lee comes in with a new addition to his game and he has improved every season. Besides, if his ceiling is 15/11 and 57% from the field, I think most teams would welcome that. At the same time I don't want to throw too much money at him and hinder our chances of a top FA in 2010. I'm guessing the Knicks see what teams are offering next season and match if it's reasonable. $40-45M/5 years seems fair.
