If the Knicks are to obtain Ron Artest in a summer package, they'll have to do it without David Lee being included in the package, the New York Post is reporting.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Knick president Isiah Thomas has not made Lee available in talks with Sacramento, nor will he in potential future talks.

That would seem to decrease the chances of the Knicks putting together a strong-enough package to get Artest, especially since Kings GM Geoff Petrie is considered a stubborn negotiator.

The Knicks would likely only pony up Lee in a deal for Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett.

However, Lee's minutes are expected to drop next season with the addition of starting power forward Zach Randolph. Although he rarely started, Lee got many of his minutes at power forward for the ineffective Channing Frye, now a Blazer.

The chances are stronger that an Artest trade would happen later in the summer, when the contracts of Dan Dickau, Fred Jones and Chandler can be traded. Chandler, the first-round pick out of DePaul, is expected to sign his rookie deal Monday.