...The stretch provision would've saved them $20mm on the tax...
Yup, that $45 million figure seems to be wrong. Lin would have counted around $8 a year, right? So, assuming no trades, etc. he _might_ have cost the Knicks another $20 million or so. Let's say the Knicks win 5 more games next year with Lin and they play three extra playoff games--that's probably more than $20 million right there, not to mention the marketing impact Lin might have on the team overall.
I'll watch a few more Houston games this year but...maybe I'll check out the Nets...and, yeah, I'll check out the Knicks but this Lin business was a deal breaker for me.