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Rumors have swirled that the agent for David Lee has been campaigning to try and get his client top dollar. In essence, that's his job.

At the same time, what you have to love about Knicks president Donnie Walsh is his patience, and the gamesmanship between the two has been something to watch over the past year. Walsh's experience, it would seem, has given the Knicks great positioning.

Walsh knew that his focus when he took the job in New York was going to be clearing cap space so the team could be players in the 2010 free agent market. He also knew that he had some talent here, particularly in Lee and guard Nate Robinson, and his job was to evaluate them moving forward. Without question, their play -- along with their free agent positioning -- would have an impact on the Knicks.

But let's stick with Lee. They guy is a workhorse who brings the energy that you need to make it in this league. He's got all the tools to be a real player in this league year in and year out.

Almost.

Lee is the type of player fans can grasp on to, as in someone who you know will give you an effort even if the team loses by a ton. It's that effort that sometimes disguises his weaknesses and often gets ignored by fans who are fascinated by stats and double-doubles.

Lee is a solid player on a championship team. His agent is kidding himself if he thinks he's a player who puts teams over the top for a championship. Is Lee the missing piece in Cleveland or Orlando? Is he the guy that gets Denver over the rocky mountain? The answer, it would seem, would be no.

In this economy and this market, the fact that no team has reportedly given Lee an offer he can't refuse tells you all you need to know. Granted, Lee has said all along that he wants to be here and I don't think, in the end, that he'd be upset if he comes back here for far less than what his agent is asking for.

Advantage Walsh.

But the real question is, will he be allowed to play the same minutes should he come back? Jordan Hill is going to play, as will Darko Milicic. You'd figure that Jared Jeffries has to play up front, and why wouldn't the team sneak in a few minutes at the big forward spot for sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari? But most importantly are the minutes that the team will have to use on Eddy Curry, who needs them to at the very least be showcased, much less productive. Why? Because moving Curry next year is priority No. 1. I didn't think Zach Randolph could have been moved in a million years last season, but Walsh found a way to do it and it's hard to believe that if Curry shows a shred of production that he can't be moved either. Right now he can't, but apparently he's been working out and he'll need minutes to prove he can still play in this league.

So it will be interesting to see what the team does with Lee, but it goes back to Walsh being patient and asking for his camp to prove that he will get a challenging offer. So far he hasn't. That said, Walsh been right since day one of the offseason; Lee will be right for the team at the right number.

And the team is preparing for whatever that is. It would seem that what Walsh is thinking and what Lee's camp are thinking, right now, are two really different things.

Again, advantage Knicks.

So hope that what Walsh has been able to do in dealing with Bartlestein off the court, can eventually translate to the same dominance against NBA competition on it.