Saturday, July 07, 2012

Jeremy Lin agrees to 4 year 28.8 million offer from Rockets

Jeremy Lin agreed to sign an offer sheet from the Houston Rockets. Free agents can begin signing contracts on July 11. Lin is a restricted free agent so the Knicks have 3 days after Lin signs the Rockets' offer to match and keep Lin. All indications are the Knicks will match.

From the New York Times:
Under the terms of the backloaded deal, Lin will make $5 million next season, $5.2 million in the second season and $9.3 million in each of the final two. The fourth year is a team option, so the true commitment is $19.5 million for three years.

Entering the free agency period on July 1, the Knicks stated they were prepared to match any offer, which may have discouraged teams from bidding for Lin. The final offer from the Rockets is friendlier to the Knicks than most Knicks fans expected. 4 years for 40 million guaranteed was the maximum other teams could have offered Lin. Only the first three years of Lin's contract with the Rockets are guaranteed, which coincides with the three years remaining on Tyson Chandler, Amare Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony's contracts. More than the lower-than-maximum dollar amounts on the third and fourth years of Lin's contract, the team option in the fourth year helps the Knicks' future plans.

Entering the free agency period, it was hard to predict Lin's market. I pegged his basketball value as like a #1 overall draft pick with his mix of 'can't miss' promise, doubts, and concerns. #1 overall draft picks make about 5 million dollars a year with raises for 4 years on a fixed rookie salary scale. His added marketing value would vary by team. I thought the small sample size, in terms of size and length, the variety within the samples, wariness of the D'Antoni boost for point guards, and Lin's injury would make teams cautious. But I also thought his added marketing value and potential would entice a rebuilding team like the Nets (who successfully resigned Williams), Raptors, or Mavericks to gamble on Lin with something better than the Rockets offer, perhaps even a maximum offer. Howard Beck of the New York Times believes the uncertainty of projecting Lin's future based on the small sample size scared teams from bidding for him.

The Knicks also signed Jason Kidd to back up and mentor Lin.

Add: Funny. Same funny but different.

Eric

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