Just two days ago it seemed like a sure thing that Jeremy Lin would be returning to the New York Knicks. That was until the Houston Rockets up the anti and increased their offer to Lin. Reports stated that the original offer was for $28 million with $19.5 million guaranteed for four-years. The new offer is a three-year deal for $25 million with $15 million in the 3rd year. Now reports are saying that the Knicks are not planning to match the offer.
On Saturday the Knicks acquired point guard Raymond Felton from the Portland Trail Blazers. Leaving everyone wondering where does that leave Lin? It’s not like the Knicks need three point guards, Jason Kidd being another point guard addition. If the Knicks did decide to keep Lin they are looking at a luxury tax for the 2013-14 season. The luxury tax is a tax given to teams when they exceed the salary cap. To avoid paying the luxury tax the Knicks probably won’t resign Lin. But in reality is the bloated spending elsewhere that is putting the Knicks in jeopardy of the tax. Blaming Lin for the tax is like adding a quarter to a sinking ship and blaming it for putting it under water.
When Knick Carmelo Anthony heard about the Rockets’ offer to Lin he immediately said it was way too much. Apparently Anthony forgot how much money Lin brings in off the court in jersey sales, ticket sales, etc. Since Lin became a star the Knicks’ market capitalization (the value of the company) is up nearly $600 million. I think that proves that Lin is worth the extra money. And how stupid do you have to be to give away that much money?
-M
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