Tuesday the New York Knicks front office announced they would not match the poison pill offer sheet set by the Houston Rockets for former Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.
Lin signed a three-year deal worth $25 million with a backloaded payout in the final year, worth $14.8 million. If the Knicks matched the offer, they would have been subjected to a luxury tax in the third year, potentially bringing their total out-of-pocket cost for the team's salary to about $43 million in 2014-15.
Original reports stated that the Rockets' offer to Lin was for four years and $28.8 million, with the third and fourth years for $9.3 million each.
Either way, I don't know if Carmelo Anthony has a degree in business, but he was on the money when he called the offer sheet "ridiculous".
With Melo, Stoudemire, and Chandler leading the Knicks, they should continue to do well going into next season. The addition of Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd, and the re-signing of J.R. Smith and Steve Novak, the Knicks should have little issues in terms of production.
Lin played well but he shouldn't be labeled as the Knicks key to success.
Here's a guy who averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assist and 3.1 rebounds in 35 games with 25 starts before surgery to his knee. His biggest stat that should stand out to people, but seems to get lost behind all the "Linsanity", is that he averaged 4.7 turnovers per game.
That's a big deal.
Last season with the Trail Blazers, point guard Raymond Felton averaged 11.4 points, 6.5 assist, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 turnovers per game. When he was Knick back in the 2010-11 season he averaged 17.1 points, 9.0 assist, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 turnovers per game.
Jason Kidd last season averaged 6.2 points, 5.5 assist, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.9 turnovers per game.
The Knicks were smart to let him go despite the displeasure of some of the fans. Sure, Lin was selling tickets and improving some businesses, but like any trend it was only a matter of time before it fades. The fans will get over this one as they did with Stephon Marbury, Isiah Thomas, and Mike D'Antoni.
Lin was a sensation for a couple months but we still don't know what he could do in a full NBA season, so why even give star money if we don't even know if he's a star?
Former Knick head coach Larry Brown called Lin "a terrific bench player" and I agree. The amount of turnovers he averaged does not make him a starter.
I mean let's be honest, Lin's story was only a big deal because it happened in New York and Knick fans love to know that their team is relevant. If he had his stretch playing for Toronto or even Charlotte, no one would care. It's because the "Linsanity" happened in the Garden that so many people took interest and it was a nice story to be told because he was the Tebow of the hardwood.
Lin is marketable, this is true, but marketability does not win championships. Well unless you're Miami, but that's a different topic.
I do feel Lin has a future to be a solid point guard in the league but he's more of a work-in-progress type in my opinion. If he went for less money, allowing the Knicks to match the offer, he would've been under one of the best point guards to play the game in Jason Kidd. If that did happen then Lin would surely become a better orchestrator on the court. But no work-in-progress player is worth $25 million if I want to contend now.
The Houston Rockets have placed their trust in Lin, but if it blows up in their face I would not be surprised.
With that said, Houston he's your problem.
