TWO BITS: Lee underrated, Noah in Bulls’ plans

By Adam Silverstein
July 6, 2010

1 » As OGGOA pointed out over the weekend, former Florida Gators forward/center David Lee may not be the “jewel” of the 2010 NBA free agent class, but he is certainly better than a consolation prize for whichever team ends up signing him. When it comes down to it, Lee may be competing with Carlos Boozer to determine who is the first forward signed aside from Amar’e Stoudamire (New York Knicks) and Chris Bosh (to be determined). “He is the ultimate role player, an energy guy who rebounds and has become one of the more skilled big men in the league,” writes the NBA’s John Schuhmann. He also notes that “Lee ranked third in the NBA in efficiency last season, behind only (LeBron) James and Kevin Durant.”

2 » The Chicago Bulls are still looking to add a top-flight free agent (or two) to their roster for next season, but the team is perfectly happy with two pieces already on the team – point guard Derrick Rose and former Gators forward/center Joakim Noah. The Bulls wish to lock-up Noah long-term, reports the Chicago Tribune; he is set to earn $3.1 million for 2010-11, and Chicago has a team option $4.2 million) that they can pick up or roll into a new contract in 2011-12.

7 Comments

  1. BosGator says:

    Great to hear some good things about several former Gators in the NBA(Between Noah, Lee, & Miller). I’ve also seen rankings with Al Horford counted as one of the top Free Agents of 2011!

  2. BosGator says:

    Also, does anyone other than the Knicks think it was worth the extra $ to upgrade from Lee to Stoudamire? Amar’e is higher profile, but is that worth the max contract they gave him?!

  3. Amar’e is certainly an upgrade and worth the extra money; he is a more dynamic scorer and – though both struggle with it – is better defensively. In fact, many believe Amar’e is the third best free agent available – ahead of Chris Bosh – whose numbers (defensively) he actually resembles quite closely.

    Horford will be one of the top free agents in 2011, yes.

  4. dp says:

    Adam…just heard Henderson is not going to USC…any chance he’ll be a Gator?

  5. I would say 0% chance. He’s going to Miami, as I first reported via Twitter on Feb. 3.

  6. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    I think if healthy almost anyone would take Amare over just about any big in the league outside of maybe 3-4 players like Howard or Duncan…but that is one big IF

  7. He’s not healthy? Could’ve fooled me. 🙂

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