Kevin Hagen/for New York Daily News
Jeremy Lin is missing the point if he feels the Knicks should have made him contract offer before Rockets.
Matching the Rockets’ $29-million offer sheet to Jeremy Lin isn’t going to be enough for the Knicks. They’re also going to have to patch things up with their returning playmaker.
Despite expressing no reservations about matching the exorbitant Rockets’ offer sheet, which can become official Wednesday with Lin’s signature, the Knicks are concerned that Lin has turned a little frosty toward the organization because he feels slighted that New York didn’t offer him a contract first.
Lin should be indebted to the Knicks for giving him a chance to play after several teams, including the Rockets, gave up on him. But when the Rockets last week offered him a deal that guarantees him $19 million over the first three seasons of his new four-year deal, the Knicks learned that Lin had been swayed by Houston to think the Knicks weren’t as interested in his services as the Rockets.
“He was surprised that the Knicks didn’t make the first move,’’ a league source said. “They know they’ve got to mend some fences with him because he believes what the Rockets have told him, that the Knicks weren’t as interested as they are.’’
That shouldn’t really be necessary, since Lin made only $788,000 last season and has made a killing on the free-agency market, despite a thin resume and with more than a few NBA executives projecting him as nothing more than a backup player. But even faced with the prospect of paying Lin more than $18 million in years three and four of the deal, the Knicks have never wavered in deciding to bring back a player they view as having a promising future.
Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Knicks GM Glen Grunwald
However, this is a sign to some NBA observers that Lin’s sudden stardom has clouded his thinking. His rise to fame came only after the Knicks gave him the ball. He enjoyed a breakthrough season at the Garden and was the NBA’s hottest story for several weeks, until he suffered a late-season knee injury. As soon as he got the Rockets’ offer, the Knicks told Lin they would match it.
“What he has to learn is that it’s not personal,’’ said the source. “The Knicks merely played by the rules.’’
Lin’s signing is going to highlight the Knicks’ busy offseason. Leading up to Wednesday’s official signing day, they reached an agreement with veteran playmaker Jason Kidd, who will back up Lin and help mentor the team’s projected starting point guard.
They also reached a sign-and-trade agreement with ex-Knick Marcus Camby to return to the Garden and give them much-needed depth at power forward and center. In the deal that will pay Camby $13 million for three years, they sent the Rockets a package of players and draft picks that includes Josh Harrellson, who could be cut and return to the Knicks for a minimum deal.
Never a team that watches its pennies, the Knicks raised some eyebrows around the league by investing $15 million over four seasons in three-point specialist Steve Novak, who made about $1 million last season.
The Knicks also made an expected move to shore up their weak shooting guard position by bringing back J.R. Smith on a one-year deal at $2.8 million. Smith could be the starter until Iman Shumpert returns from knee surgery.
Kidd is scheduled to make $3.1 million, while Lin will get $5 million in his first season. Due to the money they’re paying Lin and their new players, on top of their expensive starting frontcourt of Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler, the Knicks are going to have to fill out their roster by signing players to minimum contracts, with the money corresponding to the players’ years of service.
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