New York Knicks: Courtney Lee Says Team Is Built To Win
Recent New York Knicks signing Courtney Lee believes the current team is built to win. Lee knows a thing or two about winning.
Of the New York Knicks’ recent additions, few have been as quick to win fans over as Courtney Lee. Some skeptics remain, but Lee has been nothing but a positive voice during a summer of uncertainty.
Lee continued down the path to becoming a fan favorite by saying what every Knicks fan wants to hear: this team is built to win.
Lee knows a thing or two about playing for winning teams. He’s made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, and he’s played an instrumental role in every one of those appearances
According to Fred Kerber of The New York Post, Lee believes that this Knicks team is built with the potential to achieve the same.
"“Totally different. Phil, totally different vibe, totally different team than across the water,” Lee said of the difference between then and now. “That time I was in New Jersey, it was definitely a rebuilding year.”“Across the water with the Knicks, the team they’re putting together is built to win, not built to lose or wait out the process and rebuild,” said Lee, who joined the Knicks on a four-year, $48 million free-agent deal."
“The team they’re putting together is built to win,” is exactly what Knicks fans want to hear and read.
Lee has played in 50 postseason games, making 41 starts and an NBA Finals appearance. Though there are bigger names on the roster, he’s the only current player on the Knicks who has played in the NBA Finals.
That alone makes him an intriguing fit under head coach Jeff Hornacek, who made two NBA Finals appearances, and team president Phil Jackson, who has 13 championship rings.
From that experience comes an understanding of what does and doesn’t work on the path to the postseason. There also comes a hunger for more, as Lee has the experience, but lacks the championship.
Per Kerber, general manager Steve Mills claims that Lee was at the top of the Knicks’ free agency board from the very beginning.
"“He was at the top of the list from the beginning. We like the idea of his competitive nature as player,” Knicks general manager Steve Mills said of Lee who played in Memphis and Charlotte last season after tours with the Magic, Nets, Rockets and Celtics. “He comes into the game wanting to defend the best perimeter player on the opposing team. We needed that type of defensive energy and ability to make shots. Just an all-around player [with a] history of starting in this league.”"
That’s an accurate depiction of what Lee offers on the court.
Lee is a 3-and-D specialist who doesn’t need the ball in his hands, but can create when he has it. He’s a fierce competitor who’s willing to take on the opponent’s best perimeter scorer, and can be placed on an island.
Though he may not be a star, Lee is perfectly suited to fill the role New York has outlined for him.
Offensively, Lee shot 40.3 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-point field goals in 2015-16. Defensively, he held opponents to 41.8 percent shooting from the field.
With an off-ball 3-and-D role in the cards, Lee promises to thrive in New York.
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If his vision for the team plays out, Lee should help New York get back to the playoffs in 2017.