At some point on Wednesday, Jeremy Lin will sign an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets, a four-year deal with the first couple years at $5 million per and the final two years loaded up as a poison pill at nearly $10 million per.
And as soon as the paperwork arrives, the Knicks will match the offer keep his services.
But that is not the end of the story, not completely. Of course not, this is the Knicks. There has to be personal drama. From the New York Daily News.
Lin, you have a Harvard economics degree and this was just business — the Knicks were never going to let you walk. Never. They simply let the market set your price.
But that is the flip side to free agency — players get courted, get recruited, and everyone wants to feel wanted. That matters. It’s a key reason Ray Allen will play for the Heat — Pat Riley made sure Allen knew how much the Heat really wanted him, the Celtics had taken that relationship for granted for a couple years.
It shouldn’t be hard for the Knicks to mend the fences with Lin. But keeping the talent happy is part of the game.