Courtney Lee got the call from team president Phil Jackson and heard the urging of Joakim Noah to make the Knicks his seventh NBA team in nine seasons.
OK, maybe make that his sixth NBA team. Lee, don’t forget, was a member of the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets, and even archaeologists have a tough time uncovering evidence suggesting that particular team was in the NBA. Those Nets were a 12-70 disaster and started that season with an NBA-record 18 straight defeats.
But Lee is excited and thrilled to return to the area, even if there are reminders of a season that made grown men pull their own fingernails out with rusted pliers.
“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.”
What!? You call a roster with Sean Williams, Terrence Williams and Yi Jianlian “rebuilding”? We call it “self-immolation.”
“We only won 12 games. Kind of felt like it wasn’t really the NBA,” Lee said. “We were competing every night and still getting blown out by 20.”
Nah, games were rarely that close.
“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 6-foot-5 shooting guard who will be 31 on opening night is important to the Knicks’ success. Yes, the splashier moves involved Derrick Rose and Noah — even Brandon Jennings — joining a cast already populated by Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.
But there is only one ball, and Lee, a career 9.6-points-per-game scorer and 45 percent shooter, is the sort of guy who can thrive and contribute without suffering shoulder fatigue from hoisting shots. He has averaged 8.2 shots per game in a career that includes 360 starts in 600 games. And he defends.
“Courtney Lee is a good, solid player,” one opposing talent evaluator said. “He doesn’t need shots. And [the Knicks’] shooting guard isn’t going to get a lot of shots. He’s a pro.”
He’s a pro who loves his new surroundings and a still-under-construction roster populated with new names. But the Knicks, seeking a backup shooting guard, could add another holdover. Sasha Vujacic, a starter by the end of 2015-16, remains high on Jackson’s list.
That starting job now belongs to Lee, whom Knicks brass saw as a strong fit for a reworked team that now has playoff aspirations.
“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.”
Several teams, including the 76ers, who offered more money, sought Lee. But Lee saw the Knicks as a better fit with more immediate promise.
“A few teams contacted. I spoke to Phil. I kept in contact with Joakim,” Lee said. “Seeing the trade they made to get Derrick Rose, signing Joakim, discussions with Brandon, I felt the team was moving in the right direction. You already had Melo and KP here. So that’s a strong core group. Thought joining this team would only increase my chances of competing in the Eastern Conference and trying to win a ring.”
Compared with those old Nets, the 2016-17 Knicks look like the Michael Jordan Bulls of the ’90s — even with the injury histories of Rose, Noah and Anthony.
“It’s all in the past. Everybody’s looking for a fresh start. The guys already here, it could be a great situation,” Lee said. “I’d rather go to war with guys who are eager and hungry with something to prove than guys that don’t. It was a no-brainer for me.”