Reports have surfaced this morning that David Lee might end up in Toronto next season:
The Raptors have been one of the worst rebounding teams in the league for the last few seasons. Chris Bosh is an All-Star power forward, but he’s most comfortable in the high post. Fellow big man Andrea Bargnani is, of course, most comfortable on the perimeter.
So the Raptors need a big that can operate down low and do the dirty work on the boards. Lee ranked third in the NBA with 11.7 rebounds per game and recorded a league-high 65 double-doubles. He doesn’t have the size of a center, but the trio of Bargnani, Bosh and Lee complement each other very well.
Bosh may leave Toronto a year from now, but that wouldn’t diminish Lee’s value with the Raptors because Bargnani will always need help on the glass.
- John Schuhmann (NBA.com) through Raptors Republic
While I agree with John’s observation that the Raps desperately need to add rebounding I’m not sure if Lee is a good fit for our team. First, Lee plays the F/C position which is currently a position of strength of the Raptors with All-Star Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, and newly acquired Reggie Evans. Lee may be able to play center in Toronto despite his smaller stature (6′9 240 lbs.) because he is one of the better rebounders in the league (Lee plays C in New York but plays in a different scheme). However, the biggest concern with Lee is his lack of defense. Lee is a double-double machine (65 last season) which is where the conversation about Lee usually ends, most people only like to discuss offensive numbers. The issue is that Lee is too small too be a good one on one defender and is not athletics enough to be a good help defender.
Just take a look at the defensive stats from 82games. Lee has a career average of .3 blocks per game and .7 steals per game which show his inability to be an effective help defender. Next, Lee allows his opponets to score 52.6% (see on/off court: effective FG%) of the time when he is on the court which shows that he is ineffective one on one. Also his defense is worse when he plays the center position instead of power forward, 109.1 points given up compared to 105.6 at power forward (see production by position).
Despite bashing Lee this whole article so far I think that he would be a good fit on the Raptors. With Bosh likely gone next offseason Lee can take over at the 4 in ‘10/’11, which I feel is a great fit for Lee. Also you can’t discount the desperate need for a rebounder in Toronto, with 11.7 rpg last season Lee would be a welcomed addition to a team that was out rebounded 41.9 to 40.4 last year. Lee and Bosh would start and Bargnani would come off the bench and the Raptors could play a big lineup with all three in the lineup which will give them an significant height over most teams.
The Knicks have reportedly offered Lee 32 million over 4 years which is less than the 10 million a year that Lee is expecting. If the Raptors offer Lee 10 million a year they are making a huge mistake but something near the 32 million that New York offered him would be a decent deal for the Raptors.
I am doubtful this happens though.
- KC Roberts
FanSided
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