When free agency started a few days back we all thought Jeremy Lin would remain with the Knicks when free agency ended.
And he will, it’s just going to cost New York a lot more than it thought.
Lin spent the Fourth of July in Houston with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and gave him a back-loaded, poison pill offer to come to play in Texas, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and the NBC Sports Network.
Houston’s multiyear offer to Jeremy Lin includes back-loaded money designed to hit the Knicks hard on the luxury tax, sources close to Lin said. The Rockets’ offer comes as the Phoenix Suns reached agreement with Goran Dragic on a four-year, $34 million contract….
The Knicks have publicly and privately indicated they plan to match any offer for Lin.
The back-loaded contract is going to hit the Knicks in the luxury tax in a few years.
Lin looked good last season while running Mike D’Antoni’s offense while Carmelo Anthony was out, but Mike Woodson added a whole lot of Carmelo Anthony and isolation to the Knicks offense. That is less to Lin’s liking.
Doesn’t matter, there are two good reasons the Knicks will match the offer.
First, with the Lakers signing the Knicks top free agent target in Steve Nash, the Knicks need to retains depth at the point guard spot. Lin may not be the starter, but he could see a lot of minutes.
Second, what Lin means to the Knicks in terms of marketing — he sells tickets, corporations step up as sponsors, Lin jerseys fly out the door — will cover that contract’s costs.
In the end, this is a business, and Jeremy Lin is a good business to be in.