Jeremy Lin says he wanted to stay in New York – NBA News
Hours after Jeremy Lin was picked up by the Houston Rockets for a three year deal, he talked to Sports Illustrated and said that he would have preferred to stay in New York.
Lin was given an offer sheet worth $25 million for three years by the Houston Rockets, an offer which he accepted. That gave the Knicks three days to match the offer and retain him, something that never happened and brought an
end to the Linsanity era in the Big Apple.
"Honestly, I preferred New York. 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,” said Lin while talking to Sports Illustrated.
The Rockets will be paying him $5 million in the first year, $5.225 million in the second and $14.8 million in the third year. The final year salary is what put the Knicks off from Lin, as his salary coupled with the huge contracts
of Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler would put the Knicks above the salary cap. This would mean that Lin’s final year would actually cost them $43 million as they would cross into the luxury tax threshold.
Initially, the Knicks management seemed to be in the favour of signing Lin. Knicks head coach Mike Woodson had earlier said that Lin would be returning next season as the starting point guard of the Knicks. The player had dinner
with Woodson in late June in Los Angeles, and the two talked about the future of the club.
"Woodson was saying, 'You're going to be a starter, you're going to be a big part of the team.’ I came away really excited,” said Lin.
The Knicks had planned to match the Rockets offer of $28.8 million for four years, with $9.3 million in each of the final two years. However, when Houston officially placed their offer sheet, it was a three year deal worth $25
million with $14.8 million in the final year, which scared the Knicks away.
It became clear that New York was not going to match the offer when they signed point guard Raymond Felton. And the news became official on Tuesday when the Knicks did not submit an offer sheet for Lin.
Felton will now be the starting guard for the Knicks, backed up by veteran point guard Jason Kidd who was acquired earlier this month for a three year deal.
Lin will now travel back to the team that let him go before the 2011-2012 regular season began. Houston decided not to re-sign point guard Goran Dragic this off season, and also parted ways with Kyle Lowry. Lin will now be their
starting guard, as they attempt to improve on their performance from last season.
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