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Jeremy Lin: Asian American, Harvard Grad... NBA great?

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C

cashman

Banned
xbhaskarx said:
More Jeremy Lin racism on ESPN... Stuart Scott said "Lin's rise to fame"... very subtle Stu but I see what you did there.
eat_chinese_rice.jpg
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Good catch. Also Rice University is located in Houston.
 
B

bobo84

Neo Member
They really should be more angry that the Knicks pretty much made no attempt to just sign him to some sort of reasonable 5-6 million dollar deal. They disrespected Lin by being so slow to simply offer him a contract. For a guy who got dropped by so many teams in the past it makes sense to sign an offer sheet for that kind of money. Now the Knicks lose a promising young player for absolutely nothing in return.

The Knicks probably were not very interested in bringing Lin back from the start.
 
H

Hydrogen Bluebird

Member
Some classy Knicks fans on Facebook.

Edit:

A lot of them mention that Knicks gave Lin a chance but let's be honest, Lin wouldn't have gotten much playing time if Melo and Amare and some other players were not injured.
 
beat

beat

Member
Hydrogen Bluebird said:
Some classy Knicks fans on Facebook.

Edit:

A lot of them mention that Knicks gave Lin a chance but let's be honest, Lin wouldn't have gotten much playing time if Melo and Amare and some other players were not injured.
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It was a bit of luck they even signed him off waivers. I think they were on a West Coast swing when their thin backcourt got even thinner due to injuries and what with Lin being home at the time anyways - having being waived from Houston - the Knicks picked him up mostly as injury insurance.

And yeah, the Knicks gave him a chance, mostly because they were about to waive him and figured they might as well see what they had first, and also because Baron Davis' return was delayed due to an unrelated other injury AND their other PG options (Bibby, Shump, Toney Douglas) were all so terrible.
 
lucius

lucius

Member
Can't really blame Lin and his agent, that could be his last big contract, you never know he is one injury away from that, still if he had faith that he would be a strong(not superstar) player for at least 5-7 years the sky would have been the limit for what he could have made with the Knicks and endorsements. Sure he will still make out good if he plays well with Rockets but just not the same as with Knicks.
 
L

LyleLanley

Banned
lucius said:
Can't really blame Lin and his agent, that could be his last big contract, you never know he one injury away from that, still if he had faith that he would be a strong(not superstar) player for at least 5-7 years the sky would have been the limit for what he could have made with the Knicks and endorsements. Sure he will still make out good if he plays well with Rockets but just not the same as with Knicks.
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The big money for Lin isn't going to come from NY or Houston endorsements, it's going to be from Asia. Especially when they vote him into every all star game for the next decade whether he deserves the spot or not.
 
Bboy AJ

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Facebook is ridiculous. LOL at giving him a chance or whatever nonsense. Lin owes them jack.

Also, calling him greedy is ridiculous. Dolan is the greedy one for not wanting to pony up the cash. He's made so many bad financial decisions in the past. What's the big deal now? The difference is this one actually has upside.

Great article: @jaycaspiankang tries to understand why the Knicks let Lin walk http://es.pn/Q4jRe1
 
C

Cloudy

Banned
lucius said:
Can't really blame Lin and his agent, that could be his last big contract, you never know he is one injury away from that, still if he had faith that he would be a strong(not superstar) player for at least 5-7 years the sky would have been the limit for what he could have made with the Knicks and endorsements. Sure he will still make out good if he plays well with Rockets but just not the same as with Knicks.
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I don't think either side was wrong on this. Lin was looking to get paid and NY was not going to overpay an unproven player AND pay millions in luxury tax.

My only issue with Lin is the rumor that re-worked the original Houston offer after NY agreed to match. That's bullshit if true and any NY fan has a right to be mad at him for that.
 
R

RBH

Member
At 11 p.m. EST on Tuesday night, one hour before the New York Knicks needed to decide whether to match the Houston Rocket's three-year, $25.1 million contact offer to keep Jeremy Lin, the point guard's cellphone rang at his parents' home in Palo Alto, Calif. The call was from New York general manager Glen Grunwald and the conversation lasted no more than 30 seconds. Grunwald's message, Lin told SI.com, was simple and direct: "We wanted to keep you, but it couldn't work out. Tell your family I say hello, and good luck the rest of the way."

That was it. One of the more intriguing and publicly debated personnel decisions in NBA history ended in half a minute. No questions were asked, no pointed comments were uttered and no animated feelings were expressed. Lin, the undrafted 23-year-old who rose to global stardom in his first 25 starts after being cut twice, politely told Grunwald, "I just want to thank you. Best of luck in the future."

Late Tuesday night, in his inaugural hour as a Rocket, Lin opened up to SI.com about how the most popular basketball player in New York City ended up in Houston, where he'll have his official team physical today. How Knicks management -- which had spoken to him and his representatives only once this month before that call from Grunwald -- finally let him go.

"Honestly, I preferred New York," Lin says. "But my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted me. I wanted to have fun playing basketball. ... Now I'm definitely relieved."

*****

The process began in late June, when Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who was in Los Angeles visiting Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Landry Fields, contacted Lin to arrange a meeting to discuss his future. When Woodson said that his schedule prevented him from coming to Palo Alto, Lin -- who has been living with his parents this summer -- wound up flying to L.A. That night, over dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills, the guard was sold. "Woodson was saying, 'You're going to be a starter, you're going to be a big part of the team,'" Lin says. "I came away really excited."

But the next week, on July 1, the first day of the NBA's free agency period, the Knicks informed Lin and his agents, Jim Tanner and Roger Montgomery, that while the team had interest in bringing Lin back, they were also going to court other point guards to join him. The names of four candidates were provided. Three of them were veteran free agents, all age 36 or older: Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Andre Miller. The fourth was former Knick Raymond Felton, 28, who played for the Trail Blazers last season.

The Knicks would not make a formal offer to Lin -- not then, or, ultimately, ever -- instead opting to steer him toward the open market so he could assess his own price. Serious conversations with three teams besides the Knicks began. Only Houston, which had already cut the Harvard economics major last December, warranted a visit, on July 4. "The Rockets kept saying how sorry they were that that they'd cut him, and how much of a mistake it was," Tanner says. "They almost said it too many times. They kept acknowledging it."

Lin left Houston impressed by the effort and the enthusiasm. A backloaded first offer, as widely reported, came to him at four years -- with the fourth as a team option -- and $28.8 million. As news of the offer broke (and Lin's camp says they did not communicate anything to the Knicks before an offer sheet was actually signed), Woodson publicly declared that Lin would "absolutely" be back. But not long after that, the Rockets came back with a revised offer: three years for $25.1 million, with the money rising from $5 million in the first season, to $5.225 million in the second, to $14.898 million in the third. (The relatively low values of the first two annual salaries are as mandated by the Collective Bargaining Agreement's "Gilbert Arenas" provision.)

By this point, Lin had no real idea what the Knicks would do. But there also wasn't much choice: there was all of one offer sheet in front of him to consider.

At least, while surfing the Internet last Sunday, Lin read that Felton was reportedly en route to the Knicks from Portland via a sign-and-trade. Earlier this month, New York had already signed Kidd; now, Lin saw the writing on the wall, along with everybody else. "Felton's signing was the first time when I thought, 'Oh, wow, I might not be a Knick,'" Lin says. The next time he heard from an executive in the organization, it was to tell him the Knicks were letting him go.

*****

The last time Lin talked to Knicks owner James Dolan was right before Game 5 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, when New York was down, 3-1, to eventual NBA champion Miami. Lin, who had suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee, had been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and had already missed the first four games of this playoff series. Now Dolan, with point guard Baron Davis also injured, wondered about Lin's availability. But the matter had already been settled. "Every single vet on our team that has been in the league longer than five years pulled me aside and told me that I shouldn't play," Lin says. "And I had arguments with them about why I should."

Dolan -- who didn't talk to Lin often but had generally been "really nice to me" --wound up expressing support. "I have plans for you in the future," Lin recalls the owner saying. "This is a long-term investment. Don't rush back."

At the time, Lin says, he had been sleeping with an ice machine on every night and waking up early to restart it. He couldn't even touch the rim, much less defend. But the morning of Game 5, when asked about his status, he had publicly diagnosed himself at "85 percent" -- a comment he says has since been misunderstood. Lin was not 85 percent healthy, he says, but rather 15 percent away from the absolute minimum threshold to play. "People think it was easy for me to sit there and watch us lose, like I had nothing to do with the season," Lin says. "I was dying to play. I didn't miss a game due to injury in seven years until this past season, and people are acting like I wouldn't want to play in the playoffs? Of the NBA? In my first season?"

He is happy with his new employer, but less so about the misconceptions that others may now harbor. The notion that Lin has always cared about money above all else, in particular, eats away at him, especially as he sleeps in his childhood home.

"If I really wanted to, I could have triple-digit endorsements," Lin points out, but he does not. Instead, and in large part because Lin wanted to concentrate on basketball, he declined to cash in on the Linsanity gold-rush -- namely, the mountain of business opportunities in Asia -- and picked only three companies: Volvo, Steiner Sports, and Nike.

"A year ago, I was just trying to stay alive and fight day by day, just to be on a roster," says Lin, who famously slept on couches upon his arrival in New York. "What I have now is way more than I ever would have dreamed of, and way more than I need."

What he doesn't have, though -- and what he deeply misses about those magical two months, back when he was atop the sports world -- is something that can't be bought, and likely can't be replicated elsewhere, again.

"I love the New York fans to death," Lin says. "That's the biggest reason why I wanted to return to New York. The way they embraced me, the way they supported us this past season, was better than anything I've ever seen or experienced. I'll go to my grave saying that. What New York did for me was unbelievable. I wanted to play in front of those fans for the rest of my career."
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/bask...sive/index.html
 
beat

beat

Member
Cloudy said:
My only issue with Lin is the rumor that re-worked the original Houston offer after NY agreed to match. That's bullshit if true and any NY fan has a right to be mad at him for that.
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I like what Brian Cronin said about this, though:
So with that said, I think it is fair to say that if Lin's priority was only on being a Knick, then yes, he never should have accepted a contract with a poison pill in it. So it is fair to note that he likely did know that there was a chance that he'd end up in Houston and I am sure he had no real problem with that, while clearly preferring to remain a Knick.

It is quite literally the exact same thing that Melo did with the Knicks back in 2011. If his only priority was being a Knick, then Melo would have told other teams that he would only sign an extension with the Knicks. He did not. Like Lin, he was clearly willing to go to another team if that is what happened, while he clearly preferred to end up as a Knick. I know I doubted at the time whether Melo would have followed through on his threat if the Knicks had refused to up their offer, but it is fair to say that publicly he would not rule out playing for the Nets and that uncertainty led to the Knicks giving up much more than teams typically give up in trades involving free agents to be.

I made a point of saying at the time that I was fine with Melo's tactics back in 2011 and I am fine with Lin's tactics here. The idea that Dolan was (and many, many reporters were) okay with Melo's tactics in 2011 while condemning Lin's tactics in 2012 irk me.
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N

numble

Member
lol

The decision was both financial and emotional since Garden chairman James Dolan was upset over Lin restructuring his deal with Houston last week to include a third year salary of $14.9 million. Dolan, according to sources, felt he was deceived by the 23-year-old Lin.

Of course, team officials privately felt that Lin's actions over the past few weeks were anything but grateful. They were upset that he hired a publicist without their consent and were livid that the second-year point guard out of Harvard went back to the Rockets for more money. [...]

But in this case, Dolan felt betrayed by Lin for going back to Houston to rework the contract. After all, the Knicks acquired Lin in December after he was released by both Golden State and Houston.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ding-match-3-year-25m-offer-article-1.1116369
 
R

Radec

Member
Haha never thought NY will let him go.

He might have hit the jackpot with that deal(coming from 700k last year) but he'll get burried in Houston though. He aint no TMac.
 
Jackben

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
USA Today said:
Price slashed for 'Fathead' of Jeremy Lin in Knicks uniform

USA TODAY - The company that provides athletes as wallpaper has reduced the New York Knicks version of Lin from $99.99 to $16.36.

Why $16.36? That is the year that Lin's alma mater Harvard University was founded.

When LeBron James left Cleveland, his price dropped to $17.41.

Fathead is owned by Dan Gilbert who also owns the Cavaliers and 1741 was the birth year of traitor Benedict Arnold.
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http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/07/jeremy-lin-fathead-reduced-to-1636/1
 
A

apana

Member
numble said:
lol


http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ding-match-3-year-25m-offer-article-1.1116369
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Great revenge, letting someone steal your point guard. Also I know Lin is punished by not being in New York but he is going to end up going to Houston, not Siberia. I can't say what Lin did or didn't do and I can understand being ticked off at him if he went to Houston looking for a higher offer. However this is not the kind of decision you make based on your emotions. If you do have to consider emotions, at least consider the emotions of your fanbase over yourself. There seems to be a real breakdown of communication here. The very least the Knicks could have done is had a conversation with him and try to work through any perceived offenses.
 
GungHo

GungHo

Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
On my way home last night, local NPR sports guy said that transition to Houston for Lin would be easy because we had Yao Ming before so we're used to Asians.

I shook my head.
 
L

LyleLanley

Banned
Cloudy said:
I don't think either side was wrong on this. Lin was looking to get paid and NY was not going to overpay an unproven player AND pay millions in luxury tax.

My only issue with Lin is the rumor that re-worked the original Houston offer after NY agreed to match. That's bullshit if true and any NY fan has a right to be mad at him for that.
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The Knicks would never give an overrated player an oversized contract, never!
 
beat

beat

Member
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/48033/jeremy-lins-contract-in-perspective

Is three years and $25 million too much to pay Jeremy Lin?

If he's a starting-quality guard, that rate seems to be about average. Below is a sample of what starting point guards earn in the NBA. Where does Jeremy Lin, with a contract averaging 8.4 million a year, fit in?

[...]

When it comes to useful starting point guards you didn't draft, it's almost impossible to find one that will be cheaper than the price the Rockets set for Lin. Because they are capped out, the Knicks can't acquire another point guard through free agency at Lin's cost, and they also lack a first-round draft pick in 2013. So it's not a choice between Lin and another $8 million per year point guard, it's between Lin and whatever they can shoehorn into Kidd or Felton's $3 million salary spot, sign on a minimum deal, or trade for.

Long story short: Instead of paying Lin the going rate for a starting point guard, the Knicks ended up signing Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd, two players who ranked at the bottom of starting point guards in the NBA, for nearly equivalent cost next season.

All but three point guards (Lowry, Jarrett Jack and Jordan Farmar) with a PER above league average (15.0) make $8 million or more.

This is a simple fact of the NBA marketplace.
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C

ChiTownBuffalo

Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
C

ChiTownBuffalo

Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
B

BobLoblaw

Banned
richiek said:
Fucking racist idiots. They should focusing their vitriol towards Dolan and Knicks management instead.
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That's what the entire debate is about. On one hand, Dolan said they'd bring him back and you KNOW they wanted to, but on the other hand, you have Lin going behind NY's back and signing a second deal knowing that NY would be on the hook for $15 million in the third year. If he really wanted to stay in NY, he would've told them what the offer was BEFORE signing it. Dolan deserves some blame for not doing everything he can to keep him, but Lin should get most of the blame. And I'm not a fan of either Houston or New York.
 
beat

beat

Member
Behind NY's back? I don't think he went behind anyone's back. NY was up front about wanting to match anything; Houston desperately needed a PG after trading Lowry and letting Dragic go. No surprise Houston reworked the offer, and it wasn't really a much more ridiculous offer than the first one. Yes, even considering the luxury tax implications. That's just basketball business. Melo could have come to a less gutted Knicks team too if he'd come in free agency rather than a trade -- again, that's just business.

Also, the Knicks get nothing for letting Lin walk. They're still ridiculously over the cap even without matching on Lin.

Meanwhile, a decent enough piece about a future Lin return to New York: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...7315006.html?mod=WSJ_NY_Sports_LEFTTopStories

July 18, 2030

The man stepping to the podium at the New New New Madison Square Garden was not the phenom who'd captivated this franchise so many years ago. Twenty NBA seasons--a longer career than any expert ever imagined for him--had taken a toll. His walk, slowed by knee surgery, was cautious, and his hair, though still asymmetrically hip, was now gray.

Jeremy Lin was 41 years old, and a New York Knick again.
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F

Forever

Banned
Not that I've followed his team extremely closely in recent years, but this was absolutely retarded of Dolan. You let him walk for nothing over something so petty? He wanted to play there and the fans wanted him there. What a dick, good luck getting out of the first round.

Oh, and an interesting article I'm sure a lot of people will laugh at, but I think it raises some good points vis a vis Dolan being a tin man.
 
T

Takuan

Member
BobLoblaw said:
That's what the entire debate is about. On one hand, Dolan said they'd bring him back and you KNOW they wanted to, but on the other hand, you have Lin going behind NY's back and signing a second deal knowing that NY would be on the hook for $15 million in the third year. If he really wanted to stay in NY, he would've told them what the offer was BEFORE signing it. Dolan deserves some blame for not doing everything he can to keep him, but Lin should get most of the blame. And I'm not a fan of either Houston or New York.
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I had read earlier today that this isn't the proper process in these deals. Jeremy could not have told the Knicks what he was offered before signing because he would then be dealing with Houston in bad faith - essentially playing them to get more from his desired team. I don't know if it would've been illegal for Lin to have done that, or if it just would've been extremely bad business practice, but it sounds logical to me that he couldn't have disclosed the terms of the second contract to New York before signing with Houston first.
 
L

LyleLanley

Banned
Takuan said:
I had read earlier today that this isn't the proper process in these deals. Jeremy could not have told the Knicks what he was offered before signing because he would then be dealing with Houston in bad faith - essentially playing them to get more from his desired team. I don't know if it would've been illegal for Lin to have done that, or if it just would've been extremely bad business practice, but it sounds logical to me that he couldn't have disclosed the terms of the second contract to New York before signing with Houston first.
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This is entirely the Knicks fault, they essentially had the Rockets do their negotiating for them and they got burned. That and the Knicks owner is an egotistical idiot.
 
T

Takuan

Member
Radec said:
Well he was not signed for basketball reasons anyway.

dun dun dun!
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No need for the "dun dun dun", anyone with an once of objectivity knows that he's getting paid for business reasons. This will probably be the biggest payday he sees in his NBA career, and I personally doubt he'll be relevant by the end of his contract (for basketball reasons).
 
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