But it is not 2002. It is 2012. And to compare Lin's salary with the misfits we had on the team back then does not make any sense.

With Today's salary cap structure players are earning WAYYYY less than they were back then. This offseason was evidence of that. Good players are signing multi-year 3Million dollar deals because the good old days of making BANK for "potential" are pretty much over. Unless of course you are a big man..

blkexec wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

Knicksfan wrote:Im starting to wonder if this Lin situation will take the fun and excitement out of what seems to be a promising 2012-2013 season. I know its still a recent issue and some fans are mad, but do we really have to keep dissecting every single aspect of the Lin decision? People have pretty much stated where they stand on this and its probable that those who hate management for the decision will still hate them and those who defend the decision will still do it.

I really hope next season isn't overshadowed by this because we might have the strongest Knicks team we've had in more than a decade.

I think no matter how well the team plays (and I do think we will have a GREAT team) the Lin thing will hang over our heads. A lot depends on how he plays in Houston. I think he clearly puts up better numbers there than he would here (due to no Melo, Stat, etc.) and it's going to be tough in that regard.

The thing that will go down as "The night NY Died, Part II", will be if we have one serious injury to Stat or Melo - Our season will be finished. Remember, Stat is coming off of two years of back injuries. We won't hear the end of it, and to be honest, I will be one of those pointing it out. But I am rooting for the team regardless. Still, Lin was an insurance policy and then some, that paid for itself mind you.

I just think the Lin thing was personal and not financial and that our best chance of winning a championship is to have 3 players of Stat, Melo and Lins caliber. Now we have two, if one goes down, we have one. Miami has three of those players, one in Lebron that almost is like have two great players. And they are a great defensive team, it will be interesting to see how we play against them now in a 7 game series. We just don't have the speed from the PG position - both defending and scoring the ball. And we don't really have anyone outside of Melo that is up there (and consistent - JR can do it here and there.)

I think Lin will always put up better numbers....You usually do that each year, if you work on your craft as a young NBA player. What does that have to do with winning a championship right now? Stats means nothing without a ring. Lin's best chance of winning a ring was with NY. And that would've been from the bench, cheering on Kidd (with a 25 million dollar chant) in the 4th quarter. But that boat has sailed off now and he's not thinking about winning a championship for us NY fans....He's thinking about himself, going from sleeping on the couch to buying a large brick home, with his NEW MONEY HUNGRY agent and that 25 million dollar pay raise and huge playing time so he can continue to fill up his stats and tear his other knee.

He even said it himself...Linsanity started to get to his head. He had different priorities with his own personal career branding, holding hands with Tebow, spreading love and happiness (James Brown). We need players focused on winning a championship, not individual accolades. Lebron and company took a pay cut to win a championship, not to increase their branding....

What happened the last time Lin played heavy minutes under Dantoni? Beware of Linsanity's health, and stability, playing 40 minutes a game, with a target on your back, and old knick fans waiting and media waiting for him to fail.... He's no longer a sleeper or that Lin guy that almost got cut. He's paid like an NBA starter. Solid players will destroy Lin, similar to what Deron Williams did. Average to below average players will use Lin to prove that they belong in the NBA, even at half the price of Lin's contract. He will get muscled in the post and abused on those hard drives in the paint. Unless people are saying hes the next Alan Iverson (which I hope not)....He's not built for the slashing game, against NBA bigs all season, playing 40 minutes a game on a team with no talent.

I can't wait til mid season. I'm just going to sit back and watch all these Lin lovers reverse everything they are saying right now. Lin doesn't have super human powers people. This is not some super hero movie. He's a decent combo guard / tweener (not even a pg) with a great skill at getting to the basket. Other than that, he's just a great story, and a great person. I really don't understand all the hype. And maybe because I've played with and against guards all the time with talent similar and better than Lin. Melo is the same way....If we missed on adding Melo, most people would be all over Dolan, just like the Lin issue, including me. Once you become a knick, you are family in my eyes. Everybody else are enemies! If you're a real Knick fan, you understand.

not a pg...dude no pg on a knick roster had double digit assits( except for felton) for more the 2 or 3 times in any givin season..and its been like that for years...Lin out played deron, deron came back with a vegence the next time they saw each other..He hit a ridiculous 8 3 pointers..give the kid a break..deron is 8 yrs in..

how many pg's have had the same chance lin got, and never ever produce the stats he had.. the kid can play, stop hatin

toodarkmark wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

blkexec wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

misterearl wrote:Post Of The Month (must read)

blkexec wrote:
I think Lin will always put up better numbers....You usually do that each year, if you work on your craft as a young NBA player. What does that have to do with winning a championship right now? Stats means nothing without a ring. Lin's best chance of winning a ring was with NY. And that would've been from the bench, cheering on Kidd (with a 25 million dollar chant) in the 4th quarter. But that boat has sailed off now and he's not thinking about winning a championship for us NY fans....He's thinking about himself, going from sleeping on the couch to buying a large brick home, with his NEW MONEY HUNGRY agent and that 25 million dollar pay raise and huge playing time so he can continue to fill up his stats and tear his other knee.

He even said it himself...Linsanity started to get to his head. He had different priorities with his own personal career branding, holding hands with Tebow, spreading love and happiness (James Brown). We need players focused on winning a championship, not individual accolades. Lebron and company took a pay cut to win a championship, not to increase their branding....

What happened the last time Lin played heavy minutes under Dantoni? Beware of Linsanity's health, and stability, playing 40 minutes a game, with a target on your back, and old knick fans waiting and media waiting for him to fail.... He's no longer a sleeper or that Lin guy that almost got cut. He's paid like an NBA starter. Solid players will destroy Lin, similar to what Deron Williams did. Average to below average players will use Lin to prove that they belong in the NBA, even at half the price of Lin's contract. He will get muscled in the post and abused on those hard drives in the paint. Unless people are saying hes the next Alan Iverson (which I hope not)....He's not built for the slashing game, against NBA bigs all season, playing 40 minutes a game on a team with no talent.

I can't wait til mid season. I'm just going to sit back and watch all these Lin lovers reverse everything they are saying right now. Lin doesn't have super human powers people. This is not some super hero movie. He's a decent combo guard / tweener (not even a pg) with a great skill at getting to the basket. Other than that, he's just a great story, and a great person. I really don't understand all the hype. And maybe because I've played with and against guards all the time with talent similar and better than Lin. Melo is the same way....If we missed on adding Melo, most people would be all over Dolan, just like the Lin issue, including me. Once you become a knick, you are family in my eyes. Everybody else are enemies! If you're a real Knick fan, you understand.

Love This Line

Once you become a knick, you are family in my eyes. Everybody else are enemies! If you're a real Knick fan, you understand.

Roll out the ball racks and let's get this party started

Define "real Knick fan" please. Seems like any dissent is frowned upon, and I frown upon that.

Real Knick fans bleed orange and blue....We don't jump in and out of the ship, with these periodic feel good / feel bad stories. We don't waiver with the wind of the media or mis-handling Linsanity or giving Eddie Curry millions just to eat himeself out of a career. Real Knick fans represent the thick skin needed to survive in NYC. Real Knick fans are stronger than that, and their love for the team runs deeper than last years feel good story or the dislike of Knicks Ownership.

Well, help me out here. I loved Lin but hated Curry. Sounds like you hated Curry as well. But it is ok for you to express that, but not ok for fans unhappy with how the team is run to express their discontent for letting Lin walk? It sounds like you just don't want to hear what you don't want to hear.

Who is jumping in and out? Again, if one can't express displeasure, then we are in dangerous waters. I'm not joking here. You can't have one area of your life "die hard" and then another area "intelligent". It doesn't work that way. I try to bring intelligence to all areas equally (I mean ok, sport is emotional and such, but overall.)

Periodic good feel stories? Lin was probably the greatest story of it's kind in the history of the NBA. Periodic? LOL

Thick skin? Sounds like acceptance of being insensitive. Again, I'll go with intelligence.

Real Knicks fans are just real human beings. To try to define yourself separately, with words like "thick skinned, bleeding Knicks colors, not jumping ship, etc." that just sounds like an excuse to act in a certain way and then be proud of it. Again, that sounds dangerous.

Yeah thanks blkexec. Guess you're more "real" than I because you don't complain about James Dolan or wonder why the Knicks are such a poorly run franchise. Guess someone "real" just grins and takes it. Sorry sir! Didn't mean to have an opinion con-trary to yours sir!

Ima just go right here and watch me some Carmelo Anthony. Who is not universally considered a selfish ballhog and instead I will just accept Jeremy Lin wasn't the best story that happened to the Knicks in a decade, and we let him go because our owner has too much of an ego to let basketball people make basketball decisions. And PLEASE stop with the money or talent talk.

Jeremy Lin did more for this team than Shandon Anderson, Jerome James and Eddy Curry did over their contracts. And they got PAID. This guy contributed, was young, had potential, but didn't fit in Lil' Jimmy Dolan's plans. Sorry if pointing out truths hurts being "real".

knicks1248 wrote:

blkexec wrote:

earthmansurfer wrote:

Knicksfan wrote:Im starting to wonder if this Lin situation will take the fun and excitement out of what seems to be a promising 2012-2013 season. I know its still a recent issue and some fans are mad, but do we really have to keep dissecting every single aspect of the Lin decision? People have pretty much stated where they stand on this and its probable that those who hate management for the decision will still hate them and those who defend the decision will still do it.

I really hope next season isn't overshadowed by this because we might have the strongest Knicks team we've had in more than a decade.

I think no matter how well the team plays (and I do think we will have a GREAT team) the Lin thing will hang over our heads. A lot depends on how he plays in Houston. I think he clearly puts up better numbers there than he would here (due to no Melo, Stat, etc.) and it's going to be tough in that regard.

The thing that will go down as "The night NY Died, Part II", will be if we have one serious injury to Stat or Melo - Our season will be finished. Remember, Stat is coming off of two years of back injuries. We won't hear the end of it, and to be honest, I will be one of those pointing it out. But I am rooting for the team regardless. Still, Lin was an insurance policy and then some, that paid for itself mind you.

I just think the Lin thing was personal and not financial and that our best chance of winning a championship is to have 3 players of Stat, Melo and Lins caliber. Now we have two, if one goes down, we have one. Miami has three of those players, one in Lebron that almost is like have two great players. And they are a great defensive team, it will be interesting to see how we play against them now in a 7 game series. We just don't have the speed from the PG position - both defending and scoring the ball. And we don't really have anyone outside of Melo that is up there (and consistent - JR can do it here and there.)

I think Lin will always put up better numbers....You usually do that each year, if you work on your craft as a young NBA player. What does that have to do with winning a championship right now? Stats means nothing without a ring. Lin's best chance of winning a ring was with NY. And that would've been from the bench, cheering on Kidd (with a 25 million dollar chant) in the 4th quarter. But that boat has sailed off now and he's not thinking about winning a championship for us NY fans....He's thinking about himself, going from sleeping on the couch to buying a large brick home, with his NEW MONEY HUNGRY agent and that 25 million dollar pay raise and huge playing time so he can continue to fill up his stats and tear his other knee.

He even said it himself...Linsanity started to get to his head. He had different priorities with his own personal career branding, holding hands with Tebow, spreading love and happiness (James Brown). We need players focused on winning a championship, not individual accolades. Lebron and company took a pay cut to win a championship, not to increase their branding....

What happened the last time Lin played heavy minutes under Dantoni? Beware of Linsanity's health, and stability, playing 40 minutes a game, with a target on your back, and old knick fans waiting and media waiting for him to fail.... He's no longer a sleeper or that Lin guy that almost got cut. He's paid like an NBA starter. Solid players will destroy Lin, similar to what Deron Williams did. Average to below average players will use Lin to prove that they belong in the NBA, even at half the price of Lin's contract. He will get muscled in the post and abused on those hard drives in the paint. Unless people are saying hes the next Alan Iverson (which I hope not)....He's not built for the slashing game, against NBA bigs all season, playing 40 minutes a game on a team with no talent.

I can't wait til mid season. I'm just going to sit back and watch all these Lin lovers reverse everything they are saying right now. Lin doesn't have super human powers people. This is not some super hero movie. He's a decent combo guard / tweener (not even a pg) with a great skill at getting to the basket. Other than that, he's just a great story, and a great person. I really don't understand all the hype. And maybe because I've played with and against guards all the time with talent similar and better than Lin. Melo is the same way....If we missed on adding Melo, most people would be all over Dolan, just like the Lin issue, including me. Once you become a knick, you are family in my eyes. Everybody else are enemies! If you're a real Knick fan, you understand.

not a pg...dude no pg on a knick roster had double digit assits( except for felton) for more the 2 or 3 times in any givin season..and its been like that for years...Lin out played deron, deron came back with a vegence the next time they saw each other..He hit a ridiculous 8 3 pointers..give the kid a break..deron is 8 yrs in..

how many pg's have had the same chance lin got, and never ever produce the stats he had.. the kid can play, stop hatin

Chris Duhon has 16 double digit assist games in the 2008-2009 season including setting the Knicks franchise record for assists in a game with 22. Is this a case of Linisia?

CashMoney wrote:

ShellTopAdidas wrote:

ramtour420 wrote:As much as it is in the past and we do need to move on, here it goes anyway. The first contract Rockets offered was never signed. Why? Because there was nothing to sign, it was verbal. The second contract was on paper and therefore was the only contract available to be signed. The Knicks did their part by not offering anything. It backfired. We will find out if this is good or not for us ONLY in a couple of years. Anything else, at this point, is a pure speculation. Let's see how it all plays out. Nothing easier than for the Rockets to bring the papers for sighning the first time. Let's pretend they did: Lin signs, Knicks match, game over. That's why the first contract was not even real. With the willingness to resign Lin for a billion $ , the Rockets had much more room to operate.

Lin should've never been allowed to test the market in the first place. Dolan should have took care of him from jump. Why would u let the best pg you've had in years test the market? I mean who does that? Dolan sell the team please!!!!

Why did the Pacers let Hibbert test the market? Why did the Blazers let Batum test the market. Why did the Hornets let Gordon test the market?

Could it possibly be that normal protocol with RFA's is to let the market dictate the price?

If people want to kill Dolan for letting Lin go then so be it but Lin also deserves a share of the blame as well. You don't hire high powered agents if you're not trying to get the most dollars. The verbal offer the Rockets made was MORE than the Knicks could have given Lin anyway.

Poor Jeremy, the Knicks didn't call me until 12:15AM. I only had 1 offer sheet, what was I supposed to do?

The reality is if he didn't want to test the market he would have told his agents that and it would have been relayed to the Knicks. Seriously.....
"I don't want to play for another team I only want to play in New York. Work something out with Grunfeld that is far to both of us."

Instead, Lin's camp KNEW that the Knicks were concerned about the luxury tax penalties which is why the Knicks had initially discussed a FRONT LOADED contract. Houston knew it as well which is why they nailed on the 3rd year at $14.8. The Rockets knew by doing that it would give them the best chance to get him.

Dolan paid over $60 million in luxury tax back in 2003 and by signing Lin to that deal the cap penalties wouild be much much more. However, it's only money right? Basketball is a business and the point of any business is to make as much money as you can. Dolan did it in the past but he wasn't signing on to do it again.

I mean what owner in their right mind wouldn't want to pay over $50 million in penalties, based on 25 games because it made fans feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

I forgot, this may be the worst move in Knicks franchise history!

Seriously, let's see how the kid develops. If he turns into CP3, Nash, Parker, Williams, etc. than all the Lin lovers can continue to lose their minds. If not, this may be the smartes move Dolan has ever made.

I want to say that there are other implications outside of the money factor but I don't know how to articulate them specifically.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/26/mark-cuban-its-not-the-new-luxury-tax-its-the-restrictions/

In actuality, Cuban doesn’t fear the larger luxury tax hammer the CBA starts swinging in 2013-14 nearly as much as the roster handcuffs it will slap on luxury tax offenders….

“The money is secondary to the team-building strategy,” Cuban said. “Once you get above the tax apron [the $70.307 million luxury tax plus $4 million], there are limitations in player movement that I think have a big impact on how to build a team.”