James Dolan let Jeremy Lin walk for absolutely nothing. Was it a mistake? According to a number of writers, it was a huge mistake, and the big fall of MSG stock appears to strongly back up the notion. See why Dolan may have made one of his worst moves as an owner (and that’s saying a lot) below. You’ll also find Lin’s interview with SI to have a better understanding of what he went through during his time as a Knicks player, as well as updated Dwight Howard news:
Gregg Doyel wrote an animated piece about how “dumb” the Knicks are for not matching the offer for Lin: “Jeremy Lin is the most remarkable, most marketable thing to happen to the NBA since LeBron James. Other than the rise, fall and rise again of LeBron, this league and the nation — no, the world — of NBA fans haven’t been captivated by anything the way we were last season by Jeremy Lin. Other than the various iterations of LeBron, nothing in the last decade moved the NBA meter like that. Well, nothing positive. The Tim Donaghy scandal moved it. The lockout moved it. But good news? No, nothing but LeBron has moved it like Jeremy Lin moved it. And this is what the Knicks are giving up? This?”
Ian O’Connor was in agreement and explained how Dolan made one of his dumbest moves: “Jim Dolan just made one of the dumbest moves of his basketball life, which is saying a mouthful. The owner of the New York Knicks, who has spent years wearing a “Kick Me” sign on his back, just kicked out the Madison Square Garden door a promising 23-year-old point guard, a player who averaged 18 points and eight assists the one time someone in the NBA decided to start him instead of fire him. Jeremy Lin was going places, and now he’s going, going, gone. The Knicks voted him off the island of Manhattan. They voted against matching his $25.1 million offer sheet, the one he signed with the Houston Rockets, and barely thanked the kid for the memories, for making New Yorkers feel good about their basketball team for the first time in forever and, oh yeah, for making that nasty dispute between Cablevision and Time Warner go poof in the night.
- Howard Beck answered a number of questions most people had about Lin. Here is one of them: “Q: Was there any way for the Knicks to keep Lin and minimize their risks? A. There were several ways to justify the deal, and even some ways to decrease the financial hit. The Knicks could have kept Lin for two years — at $5 million and $5.4 million — and attempted to trade him by the third year, when his $14.9 million expiring contract could become a commodity. They could have tried to shave the payroll in other ways, although it would have been tough because they presumably want to keep Anthony and Chandler, and because Stoudemire is virtually untradeable.”
By losing Lin, the Knicks lost a whole lot more than what they would have lost due to luxury tax, from Kelly Dwyer: “When Lin busted out of relative obscurity last February to lead New York on a 10-3 midseason run, MSG’s stock shot way up, as documented by the New York Observer’s Foster Kamer. That boon continued even throughout Lin’s trip to the bench in late March, following an MCL tear, and New York’s first-round ouster from the playoffs. The stock didn’t dip until the Houston Rockets made Lin an offer as a restricted free agent that made even the spend-heavy Knicks uneasy, but because the assumption at the time was that New York would match any offer no matter how ridiculous, MSG’s shares stayed somewhat steady. Then word leaked out that New York might not match, and Knicks guard (and hopeful Lin mentor) Jason Kidd was arrested on a DWI charge. And the stock fell, by 8.5 percent. All this after a 31 percent upshot in the wake of what we’ll all fondly recall as “Linsanity.”
- In an exclusive interview with SI, Lin explained how he wanted to stay with the Knicks: “Honestly, I preferred New York,” Lin said. “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… 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 said.”
Lin may be gone, but the Knicks still have their best player, according to Mike Vaccaro: “Anthony is their best player. He is the team’s superstar. You may not like that. You may not like him. Again, entirely your right. But it’s interesting to measure the hysteria growing at the prospect of a Lin-free New York. Here is unofficial Truth 3(a): The Knicks didn’t just let Walt Frazier, circa 1973, escape the building. And Truth 3(b): They also didn’t let Carmelo Anthony, circa 2012, leave, either. Going forward, that’s something Anthony will deal with every night at the Garden.”
Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony shared their thoughts on Lin’s unexpected departure, from Brian Mahoney: “The Knicks had repeatedly said they planned to keep the restricted free agent, and Olympians Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler both believed they would. “I know the Knicks organization wanted him back, I know his teammates wanted him back, I felt like Jeremy wanted to come back, but can’t pass up what Houston threw out there,” Chandler said… “I mean, I don’t think nobody really has an idea what his ceiling is,” Anthony said. “What he was able to do for that little stretch that he played before he got hurt, he was at the all-time high, from a game standpoint doing what he was able to do, averaging 20 something-plus points, almost 10 assists. I’m ready to see what’s next.”
Raymond Felton’s agent believed that his client would have started even if Lin was retained, from Nate Taylor: “Lin’s departure leaves Felton and Jason Kidd, 39, essentially running the Knicks’ offense in 2012-13. But even if Lin were around, said Felton’s agent, Tony Dutt, his client deserved to be the starter. “My gut is, with or without Jeremy, I think Raymond is the better point guard,” Dutt said earlier this week. “I think he’ll be the starter regardless. “He wants to get back to playing at a star level,” Dutt added. “He’s extremely happy about New York.”
The Orlando Magic are discussing a possible blockbuster trade of Dwight Howard involving the Lakers and the Cavaliers, from Ric Bucher: “The Cleveland Cavaliers may have inched ahead of the Houston Rockets as a facilitator in a potential trade that would send Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources said Wednesday. One source familiar with the talks, though, cautioned not to make too much of that shift just yet. The Cavaliers would land Lakers center Andrew Bynum for a package of draft picks and veteran power forward Anderson Varejao, according to one league source. The Lakers would receive Howard for Bynum. Orlando would get Varejao and draft picks. The source said this was merely the framework of a deal being discussed.”
- Antawn Jamison will be a Laker, according to Marc J. Spears:
Lakers have agreed to a one-year deal paying the minimum with free agent forward Antawn Jamison, a source tells Yahoo! Sports.
@SpearsNBAYahoo
Marc J. Spears
Brook Lopez never concerned himself too much with the possibility of being traded for Howard: “While the NBA was transfixed by the Brooklyn Nets’ public dalliance with Dwight Howard, there was one person who was unconcerned. Brook Lopez, the centerpiece in trade packages for the Orlando Magic’s All-Star center, never wavered. We wanted to be in Brooklyn, and he was willing to wait for his time to sign a deal and rejoin his teammates. Last week, it finally came. “It didn’t bother me too much because I don’t pay attention to media speculation,” Lopez said Wednesday. “I read books and comic books. (They) didn’t mention Howard too much.” That was a good strategy. Eventually, Lopez put the comics down and agreed to a four-year, $61 million extension, as the Nets dropped Howard from their radar – for the time being.”
During an interview in Paris, Rajon Rondo stated how he really felt about himself as a point guard: “Q: This leading role, is it in your personality? Is it what you wanted? R.R.: I did not choose that I wanted to be a leader or not. I must be one for my team. Every day, I get up telling myself I want to be better. I worked hard to get to this point and I continue to work hard. Q: What is it that you lack you to be the perfect leader? R.R.: As I said earlier, I have matured a lot and my game has also. I think I am one of the best playmakers in the League. I think I’m the best point guard in the League.”
- LeBron James shows Kevin Durant how to do the “unstoppable move”.
- Check out Jeremy Pargo crossover two players before dishing off to an open teammate during a summer league game.
Social media reaction to Knicks letting Jeremy Lin walk
vaccaro is such an idiot. What is he even arguing there? 2 reasons why its ok to give up lin: 1) he isn’t clyde frazier 2) you didn’t lose melo, their “superstar”. (who has never played hard defense in his career, besides little flashes here and there)
So what. THis is a team sport, isn’t it? THis is melo’s team, so nobody else matters? You can’t be better by adding other better players? Thats literally how a two year old looks at the nba. its lebron vs durant vs kobe vs melo. They don’t have teams. Its just a battle of headlines. Knicks still have their superstar and best player so they should just cut everyone else. wow. what a freeking idiot. i DONT UNDERSTAND why the local NY media is so gosh darn stupid. It’s like the whole reason there is so much controversey swirling around everything that happens in NY, and why locker rooms are so often poisoned, is because idiots like this who just say freaking retarded crap that makes no sense and means nothing.