HANG TIME, Texas — You didn’t really think Linsanity was over just because Jeremy Lin packed up his saddle and moved to Houston.
Did you?
A week after Lin officially signed his three-year, $25.1 million contract with the Rockets, he’s still fighting off criticism that he bailed out on a Knicks team that gave him his first chance to shine.
In a conversation with Marcus Thompson II of the San Jose Mercury News, Lin admitted being stung by the criticism:
“It did kind of hurt,” Lin said. “I had to remind myself who I’m living for. Do I fear God or do I fear man? I know my actions, and I know I would change nothing if I could go back.”
Lin said he expected to — wanted to — re-sign with the Knicks. But the Rockets, who reportedly pegged him as a primary target, came after him hard. First, they agreed to a four-year, $28 million offer sheet, paying him about $9 million in each of the final two years. But by the time Lin arrived in Houston to sign the offer sheet, the Rockets — after reports the Knicks would match — had pulled the first offer and changed the deal. The new offer sheet was for three years, with a third-year salary of $14.8 million.
“I didn’t go back to them and ask for more money,” Lin said. “It wasn’t like they gave me the choice to sign one of the two and I chose the one that would hurt the Knicks. I had one contract offer. That was it.”
With no other offer on the table, Lin signed. (more…)
HOUSTON – In the end Jeremy Lin got his billion dollar contract.
After all, isn’t that what coach Mike Woodson said it would take to pry the point guard phenom — and next season’s starter — out of the Knicks’ cold, dead hands?
So Linsanity now wears boots and a Stetson, y’all.
For the Rockets, it’s the continuation of a summertime gamble that looks a lot like walking across a high wire while juggling chain saws.
After re-signing a player he had and cut seven months ago for a whopping $25.1 million, Houston general manager Daryl Morey evidently plans to turn right around and close a quite similar deal with Bulls backup center Omer Asik.
At the same time the Rockets remain doggedly in the middle of the Dwight Howard soap opera, willing to take the unhappy big man off the hands of the Magic, even for a short-term rental, or play a third-party role that could land Howard on the Lakers and Andrew Bynum in Houston. In return Morey is willing to give up a large portion of his current roster and take on a bevy of bad contracts from Orlando.
If you’re the Rockets who’ve been trapped in the netherworld middle of the NBA standings for three straight seasons with no star to build around, it is a half-mad gambler’s plan that makes perfect sense, assuming you’ve got the nerve and access to team owner Leslie Alexander’s wallet.
However, if you’re the Knicks, just drop the ‘L’ and label it insanity. Not that Lin was ever going to chase the ghost of Walt Frazier out of Madison Square Garden, but because they chose a curious time to become, as the old saying goes, pennywise and pound-foolish.
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – The reaction to the news that the Knicks passed on an opportunity to keep Jeremy Lin in New York has been as one-sided as it has been swift.
Few people (fans, pundits, casual observers, cab drivers, finance experts, etc.) think it was wise for the Knicks to allow Lin to go to the Houston Rockets because they thought three years and $25.1 million (back-loaded in the third year for the Knicks) was a sum too rich for a guy who has started just 25 games.
That blowback from the public might have something to do with the Knicks’ history of being generous with their funds — for example, Jerome James did collect $30 million from the Knicks for what amounts to a tiny crumb of the excitement Lin produced, on and off the court.
Dive in as the (media) world weighs in on the decision by the Knicks to pass on Lin …
HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – Someone can go ahead and print up those new business cards for Mike Woodson, who shed the interim tag and officially became the head coach of the New York Knicks today after signing a multi-year extension.
Retaining the coach that led the Knicks out of their midseason mess and into the playoffs promises to be just the first of what should be many important steps for the franchise this summer. They have free agents to deal with, namely a guy named Jeremy Lin, and other matters to sort out after winning their first playoff game since 2001 on Woodson’s watch.
The former Hawks coach and former Knicks draft pick replaced Mike D’Antoni in March and guided to the Knicks to an 18-6 finish to the regular season, earning the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race and a date with the Miami Heat in the first round. They only lasted five games against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat. But they played without Lin and with an ailing Tyson Chandler, the KIA Defensive Player of the Year, not to mention Amar’e Stoudemire playing with an injured hand to finish the series.
Woodson was rewarded as much for the work he did getting to the Knicks to the playoffs as he was anything else. They were headed for next week’s lottery before he took over for D’Antoni, who resigned March 14.
“Mike has the respect of every person in this organization,” Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald said in a statement. “He and his staff led the team in an impressive push into the playoffs over the last 24 games and we believe he is the right man to lead the franchise as we move forward.”
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Your anger is understandable.
Mostly because the actions of so many are indefensible.
With this latest breakdown in talks between the two sides in the NBA’s labor madness comes a sobering truth about this entire process. It’s never been about saving the game or even preserving it for the fans. It’s about two sides fighting over a billion dollar pie and each one wanting the biggest piece. Someone has to win and someone has to lose, compromise be damned!
We knew as much when this thing started, but we seemed to lose sight of that in the past few months with all the details tossed into the fray to deflect our attention from the fundamentals of this dispute. Our confidence has been betrayed by the men who have asked for that very thing from us, the basketball loving public,. And here we stand, just days away from what should have been the start of a season, staring at a potential season on the brink.
When the federal mediator both sides agreed to let dive into the middle of this battle packs up his stuff and heads for the door after three days of listening to everyone talk, it’s clear the “gulf” between the positions NBA Commissioner David Stern spoke of last week is greater than most of us imagined.
Unlike many of my less cynical colleagues here at the hideout and beyond, I wasn’t expecting a resolution to this process this week. I did (foolishly) assume that some tangible progress this week could lead to a deal sometime in the very near future.
But not after reading these words from NBPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler after the Board of Governors meeting:
“This meeting was hijacked. Something happened at their [owners] meeting. This is not the move where the owners were yesterday. We were making progress, as you heard.
“They came back, they came without the commissioner. They came with Paul Allen. We were told Paul Allen was here to express the views of the other members of the Board of Governors. And that view was: ‘Our way or the highway.’
“That’s what we were told. We were shocked. We went in there trying to negotiate, and they came in and said, ‘You either accept 50-50 or we’re done. And we won’t discuss anything else.’ “
Point fingers in whatever direction you like. Both sides are doing the same now without hesitation.
How’s this for a new Knicks Big Three: Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Isiah Thomas?
After all, they need a point guard and Isiah is only 24 years older than Chris Paul.
On the flipside, the “mutally agreed upon” departure of Donnie Walsh as general manager could mean that the 50-year-old Thomas is being welcomed back into the fold by Knicks owner James Dolan. That is, if he ever really left.
Surprising — or perhaps not? — news out of New York City today, as Donnie Walsh, the man who signed Amar’e Stoudemire, traded for Carmelo Anthony and got the Knicks back to the playoffs after a seven-year absence, has been relieved of his duties with the team. Senior vice president of basketball operations Glen Grunwald will serve as the interim general manager.
The news all came down in a Knicks statement from owner James Dolan a short while ago, explaining the decision:
“Following a long series of discussions regarding his future role with the New York Knicks, Donnie Walsh and I have mutually agreed that he will be leaving his position as president, basketball operations of the Knicks at the end of June. Donnie will remain with the team as a consultant for the 2011-12 season. In a relatively short time with the Knicks, Donnie made a tremendous impact, which will be felt for many years to come. We thank Donnie for his leadership, hard work and many contributions to the revitalization of the team.
“We will now begin an immediate search for a new president and general manager, but do not have a timetable for the decision. Glen Grunwald, the Knicks’ senior vice president, basketball operations, will serve as interim general manager beginning in July, overseeing all player transactions. With some of the NBA’s premier players, an outstanding coach and one of the league’s most passionate and loyal fanbases, we are extremely confident about the future of the Knicks franchise.”
What will this mean for the franchise? With Dolan at the helm, your guess is as good as mine …
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - The new name at the top of a coaching search a year from now for a team near a championship, or just any team in New York City: Phil Jackson.
Jackson on Wednesday re-affirmed he thinks he has coached his final game, a statement that came as part of his final meeting with the media as the Lakers completed two days of exit interviews following the humbling second-round elimination, only with the qualifier that he may not feel the same way in the future. A lot of teams undoubtedly immediately took note.
Barring the biggest shock of all, Jackson will spend 2011-12 in retirement, some while living in Montana, some while traveling, some while visiting Los Angeles where his appearance at a Lakers game will cause great buzz. He has said already, in an interview with NBA.com, that he would not stay on the job even if a lockout results in an abbreviated schedule that creates less strain on his body. And as recently as Sunday, after the Mavericks completed the sweep with a resounding victory in Dallas, Jackson again signaled his career was likely over, even surprisingly saying he was happy the season was over.
He has not sounded like a man interested in another coaching gig: “I’ve said that I’m relieved to be finished and happy with the job I’ve done.”
It was pointed out that some team will obviously call in the future to gauge his interest in a spot that is open or is about to open. How can he be so sure, the question was asked, that this week begins a final retirement?
“Today I’m sure,” Jackson replied. “What’s it going to be like in six months? Who knows.”
NEW YORK – Over the last several months, no player has been written about by the New York basketball media more than Carmelo Anthony. Yet, the Knicks still felt the need to “introduce” Melo and Chauncey Billups to that same media at a formal press conference at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, before they made their Knicks debut against the Milwaukee Bucks.
With a game to be played, the press conference was brief. Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman would have to be introduced later. And Isiah Thomas wasn’t there either.
In fact, Knicks owner James Dolan made it clear in his opening statement that Thomas had nothing to do with the trade that brought Anthony to New York.
“While Isiah Thomas is a friend of mine,” Dolan said, “he was not at all involved in this process. He wasn’t advising me or telling me what to do in any way. And any reports that imply he was doing that are simply untrue and a fiction in somebody’s mind.”
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – You’d think we learned our lesson by now, wading into the mess that is the Carmelo Anthony trade rumor mill.
But we haven’t. We just can’t help ourselves. The story that won’t go away deserves yet another moment of all our time before we dive headlong into All-Star Weekend and everything that comes along with the NBA’s Super Bowl of Weekends.
Anthony is the most coveted player in the league with the Feb. 24 trade deadline approaching, but there’s no telling if and when anything will get done. Because the one thing that has become clear through all of the hyperbole and innuendo in this process — no one wants to pay the price the Nuggets are asking for Anthony.
