Injury a millstone around Lee’s neck
Courtney Lee entered training camp having to prove he’s worth a rotation spot despite not being a big part of the team’s future.
Lee celebrated his 33rd birthday Wednesday and he’s had better ones. Still suffering from a neck strain he picked up on the third day of training camp practices last Thursday night, Lee sat out his second straight preseason game.
Lee hasn’t practiced since the injury occurred following a hard foul by Ron Baker that threw him into the basket stanchion.
“We had a scrimmage — I went in for the layup and hit the pad behind it pretty hard and got a little whiplash,’’ Lee said. “There was some more damage than what was expected. But we’re doing the treatments to make sure everything is back to 100 percent.’’
Lee, who was shopped over the summer to open up more cap space, could fall behind the eight-ball as coach David Fizdale constructs a rotation. Fizdale already decided he didn’t want to repeat last season’s alignment of Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. at shooting guard and small forward because of size issues. A source told The Post recently Lee is amenable to a trade to a contender — something he has denied.
“I’m losing my conditioning — I was in top shape,’’ Lee said. “With the conditioning drill and how we are playing fast, I was in elite shape. That’s the main thing I’m missing now is my wind. All the things they are putting in with plays and sets I’m picking up. It’s about building the chemistry that I’m missing right now.’’
Former Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek has done some work informally for the Nets during preseason. Fizdale said he called Hornacek when he got fired but hasn’t spoken to him since he got the job as his successor.
“I haven’t done that, but I definitely reached out to him when the whole thing went down and he was fired to make sure [he was OK],’’ Fizdale said. “We’re fraternity. We takes pride in that we look out for each other. When I got fired, they reached out to me the same way. I’ve been knowing Jeff for 12 years through the league.’’
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said he’s brought in various coaches across the two seasons. Hornacek still has his place in Manhattan.
“Jeff ’s a good friend of mine,’’ Atkinson said. “We’ve known each other for a long time. He’s been in the league a while, I’ve been in the league a while, so I’ve always respected what he does as a coach and obviously as a player.”
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