l*****9
发帖数: 9501 | 1 Jeremy Lin could be Knicks’ tradeable chip for high-profile player
By Steve Popper / The Record (Hackensack N.J.)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The deadline arrives Tuesday night, the one for the Knicks to match the
Houston Rockets’ offer sheet for Jeremy Lin — not the Mayan calendar
deadline for the end of days.
Actually, it seems as if it might be more important.
There may never be a phenom like Lin at Madison Square Garden again. There
certainly never was a more-hyped marketing machine, but if the Knicks choose
to match, there may never be a player with a slimmer resume to collect so
much cash.
It’s enough to cause the Knicks whiplash after they spinned around from
their original position of insisting they would match any offer. It was one-
upped Thursday by Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who announced Lin would be the
starting point guard, too.
But just days later, the silence was deafening as reports leaked out that
the Knicks would let him walk after he renegotiated the original offer sheet
— adding an even more insidious poison pill to the deal: a $14.9 million
third season to the $25.1 million, three-year contract.
There are plenty of reasons to argue why the Knicks shouldn’t pay the money
. Lin has done little outside of a three-week span to merit the payday. He
is unlikely to find himself in the perfect storm that allowed him to
flourish. He is unlikely to be worth the luxury-tax-crushing contract he’s
going to get.
But in spite of that, the Knicks should swallow deeply and match the offer.
It’s not because he’s a star. I’m not even sure he’s a starter. And I’m
pretty sure Carmelo Anthony had it right when he called the offer sheet "
ridiculous."
The coach who orchestrated the system Lin flourished in, Mike D’Antoni, is
gone. The stars are back and waiting for their isolation opportunities. All
signs now point to Lin as just an ordinary, undrafted piece.
The simple reason to match is because he’s an asset. A chip. That’s what
you’re assured of in the deal, nothing more. The truth is, no one knows
what Lin will be, but there are a lot more reasons to believe he won’t be
the player he was for that brief magical run. He proved himself for five
weeks at best, and actually, only three weeks of Linsanity before the slow
shift to reality.
Still, if he never plays at that level again, there are too many advantages
to not letting him go. If they let him walk, the Knicks still will be over
the cap — far over it — and still will be stuck with little
maneuverability in their efforts to improve the roster. But that’s where
Lin — like Landry Fields, whom the Knicks let walk for a three-year, $19.8
million offer sheet with Toronto — is useful.
If he’s any good at all, he’s a tradeable chip — Chris Paul anyone? And
even if he’s not so good, that $14.9 million poison pill becomes an
expiring contract for a team looking to get under the cap in the ensuing off
-season. The Knicks aren’t going to let him walk, then suddenly find
another $15 million under the cap to sign another point guard — but they
might need one if Jason Kidd ages quickly or finds more trouble as he did
Saturday night with a DWI charge, or if Raymond Felton reports in the sort
of shape and accompanying surly attitude he showed up with in Portland last
year.
Money troubles for the Knicks are all cap-related. The luxury tax hit will
be huge — coupled with his salary, Lin could cost the Knicks more than $40
million in the third year of the deal. He already has brought in plenty as
the Knicks sold anything and everything Lin-related last season — including
using him to help finish off the feud between the Garden’s parent company,
Cablevision, and Time Warner cable.
But no matter how many Linsanity shirts he sells and how many millions he
makes or costs the Knicks, the NBA is built on the cap, and salary is a
commodity.
That isn’t going to make the Miami Heat sweat, and a Lin return to New York
won’t make a difference in the Knicks’ efforts to catch up to the
defending champions. But if the Knicks match, they’ll at least have the
chance to find out if Lin is for real or find out what a $14.9 million
expiring contract is worth on the trade market.
If they don’t match, they might be right. Garden chairman James Dolan might
get the last laugh on Lin and his agents for their restructuring of the
offer sheet.
But there are just too many reasons — financially, on-court and marketing
to the desperate fan base — to take that risk. For all of the debate, there
really is none. The Knicks need to keep every asset at their disposal, and
Lin is one.
The clock is ticking.
———
Visit The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) at www.NorthJersey.com | J******r
发帖数: 2806 | 2 我不觉的是这样哦，因为似乎这样做太多人不爽了。
我感觉会trade其他某人。 | J******r
发帖数: 2806 | |
|
