David Lee walked through a hard rain yesterday at an NBA function at the South Street Seaport in possibly his last public appearance as a Knick .
The rain was a foreboding foreshadow, because Lee will see a lot of rain the rest his career if he bolts New York for Portland. This is not about the NBA draft. What happens in 10 days is just as important as the events of Thursday's NBA draft - unless Ricky Rubio drops to the Knicks at No. 8. "It's is a high-pressure time," Lee told The Post.
Lee's future is at stake and it's as cloudy as the New York weather. He is free to negotiate with other teams July 1.
"There already been a lot of interest," Lee said. "There's definitely a bunch of teams very interested. It's a matter of how serious that interest is and what the Knicks want to do about it."
Portland will be Lee's strongest suitor. Detroit, with cap room, has interest, too. Lee declined to say whether he'll be in the Rose City July 1 for a recruiting trip.
"I haven't discussed it," Lee said.
Portland likely has to work out a sign-and-trade with the Knicks to get the 6-foot-9 power forward. Lee is expected to command between $7-10 million per year on an offer sheet, which the Knicks can match. If he gets an offer sheet at the spectrum's high end, Donnie Walsh is prepared to trade Lee or let him go with the idea of preserving 2010 cap space.
"I know the Knicks want me to be here, they know I want to be here," Lee said. "It's a matter of how things shake out in the draft and what decisions they want to make not just for this year but 2010 as well."
Lee, who led the league in double-doubles (65), is their best rebounder, hustler and most popular player. The negative is he's not a strong post defender and isn't an offensive go-to guy in the final minutes.
In his four seasons, Lee's Knicks have never won more than 33 games, but would have been worse without his grit.
"It's up to Donnie Walsh and my agent to figure out what's going on.," said Lee, who averaged 16 points and 11.7 rebounds.
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Wilson Chandler, coming off a solid second year, was hobbling around the Seaport in a walking boot. Two bone spurs were removed from his left ankle during surgery June 4. Chandler said he plans to be back on the court the end of July but is disappointed to miss Las Vegas Summer League.
"I thought I'd use most of the summer to get better but I'll still have time," said Chandler, who learned of the bone spur with two months left to the season and played through the discomfort.
