At 11th Hour, Lin Heads Toward Exit

At 11th Hour, Lin Heads Toward Exit

By HOWARD BECK
Published: July 17, 2012
Linsanity is just about over in New York.
The Knicks plan to cut ties with Jeremy Lin on Tuesday night, according to a person briefed on the decision, ending a brief, spectacular and now bittersweet love affair between Lin, a 23-year-old point guard, and his adoring fan base. Lin will play next season for the Houston Rockets, who signed him to a three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet that the Knicks have elected not to match.

The Knicks were not expected to announce their decision until later Tuesday. By rule, they had until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time to match the offer.


Although there was time for a change of heart, people briefed on the deliberations reaffirmed early Tuesday night that the decision was final. Indeed, the deliberations were said to be over by the afternoon.

The decision ultimately rested with James L. Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman, and Dolan was the only one who could reverse it. But there was no indication he would change his mind.

“It is done,” said one person briefed on the matter.

The decision was ultimately financial, not emotional, according to people briefed on the discussions. The contract with Houston contains a third-year balloon payment of $14.9 million, which would have cost the Knicks another $35 million or more in luxury-tax penalties. The Rockets devised this so-called poison pill to dissuade the Knicks from matching.

The strategy proved successful. The Knicks ultimately concluded that it made more sense to pay two veteran point guards, Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton, a combined $7 million in 2014-15 than to spend $50 million or more to keep the 23-year-old Lin, who has yet to play a full season as a starter.

Lin spent just 26 games as the Knicks’ primary point guard last season, although it was an often spectacular run, filled with buzzer-beating shots, dazzling passing and bold drives to the rim. It began with a seven-game winning streak that saved the Knicks’ season and spawned a household word: Linsanity.

During that streak, Lin outplayed Kobe Bryant in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and hit a key shot over Dirk Nowitzki to beat the Dallas Mavericks.

A knee injury, and subsequent surgery, ended Lin’s magical run in late March.

Lin averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists during that 26-game run — statistics that would place him among the N.B.A.’s top point guards if he sustained them for a full season. Yet Lin also had an above-average turnover rate, and he struggled against some of the league’s top defensive teams, notably the Miami Heat, who harassed Lin into 1-for-11 shooting and eight turnovers in a Feb. 23 game.

Despite Lin’s great promise, his portrait remains incomplete. Whatever he may become, it will happen in Houston, where the rebuilding Rockets have placed a great deal of faith and money in him. The Rockets have stripped away most of their roster — including their two top point guards, Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic — in an attempt to clear room for Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic’s disgruntled star center. A pick-and-roll tandem of Lin and Howard could be devastating and entertaining.

The Knicks’ decision ends two weeks of suspense and speculation, which began when Lin became a restricted free agent July 1. Now comes the inevitable backlash.

Lin was the Knicks’ most popular player in a decade and a global phenomenon. Fans started at least two online petitions to keep him last weekend, when it became apparent the Knicks were leaning toward letting him go. Twitter, blogs and fan forums have been filled with anguished comments for days.

Knicks officials had yet to comment on the Lin situation as of 8 p.m. Tuesday. All of the team’s top executives, including Dolan, General Manager Glen Grunwald and Coach Mike Woodson, were in Las Vegas for the N.B.A.’s summer league, which features rookies, free agents and other hopefuls.

Dolan sat next to Woodson for the Knicks’ afternoon game at U.N.L.V.’s Cox Pavilion, but he spent most of his time checking his mobile phone. Amar’e Stoudemire, the Knicks’ star forward, later joined them in the stands. After the game, Dolan and Grunwald huddled for a time while a team spokesman stood close by, keeping reporters at bay.

The Knicks wanted to keep Lin, but his financial situation was complicated. Because he was a restricted free agent, the Knicks had the right to match any offer. Yet under N.B.A. rules, they could offer him no more than $16.13 million in a three-year deal, and a maximum of $28.75 million over five years. Only a rival team was allowed to include the third-year balloon payment.

So it was up to Lin to set his own market value by getting an outside offer. He initially agreed with Houston on a three-year, $19.5 million deal, including a $9.3 million balloon payment in the third year. That deal was agreed to in principle but never signed.

When it became apparent that the Knicks would match, the Rockets — having traded Lowry and lost Dragic — increased the third-year salary to $14.9 million. Because the Knicks are already expected to exceed the tax threshold, Lin’s salary would have cost them tens of millions more under the league’s more punitive new system. When the Rockets bumped Lin’s third-year salary by $5 million, it meant an additional $21.25 million for the Knicks.

So the Knicks will head into next season with a point guard platoon of Kidd and Felton, both of whom have more experience than Lin but carry their own caveats.

Kidd, a 10-time All-Star, is 39 and is no longer playing at an elite level. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.5 assists a game for Dallas while shooting .363 from the field. Felton, 28, has been solid in seven N.B.A. seasons, but he is coming off the worst year of his career, averaging 11.4 points and 6.5 assists for Portland and shooting .407 from the field. Felton was criticized for showing up out of shape and reportedly clashed with Coach Nate McMillan.

Some of Felton’s best moments came in his half-season with the Knicks, in 2010-11, when he formed an effective pick-and-roll partnership with Stoudemire in Coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense. The Knicks can only hope they recapture the chemistry under Woodson.

Before Stoudemire left the arena in Las Vegas, a young male shouted to him and asked to take a photograph with him. The fan wore a blue T-shirt with Lin’s No. 17 printed on the front. They smiled at the camera, unaware that Lin would soon be changing uniforms. The photograph may be a bittersweet souvenir: a final snapshot of a phenomenon that is now part of the Knicks’ past.


Nate Taylor contributed from Las Vegas.