Basketball
Knicks to let Jeremy Lin go — report
AFP
Lin-sanity in New York is over.
According to a report by ESPN, the Knicks will not match the offer sheet tendered by the Houston Rockets to point guard Jeremy Lin, the Asian-American sensation who took the league by storm last season after coming out of nowhere to emerge as a star in New York.
The Rockets offered Lin a three-year, $25-million contract with provisions that made it hard for the Knicks to match. The deal is backloaded to pay Lin $14.8 million in its third year, which would put New York’s salary cap situation in disarray. The Knicks would be deep in luxury tax territory, which would mean it would have to pay a dollar-for-dollar penalty for Lin’s contract, essentially doubling its cost.
The Knicks have already made moves to cushion the departure of Lin. The team signed veteran point guard Jason Kidd and engineered a sign-and-trade deal with the Portland Trail Blazers to re-acquire Raymond Felton.
Lin became an international darling last year. An end of the bench player, former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni gave Lin a shot, and the Harvard alum averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists to carry the squad to seven consecutive win in February.
But a knee injury cut his season short. Lin ended up playing just 35 games, 25 of which he started.
