Jeremy Lin is headed to the Houston Rockets. ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Jeremy Lin is leaving New York and taking Linsanity to Houston.
The New York Knicks announced Tuesday night that they will not match the Houston Rockets’ three-year, $25 million offer for Lin, a restricted free agent.
New York officially had until 11:59 p.m. EDT to decide whether to re-sign Lin, who became an international phenomenon in the media glare of the Big Apple.
The Rockets made it tough for the Knicks to sign off on keeping him by backloading their offer sheet with a $15 million salary in the third season. If the Knicks agreed to that deal, they would have faced a hefty luxury tax in 2014-15 because of other big contracts on their books — between $30-40 million.
Lin now returns to Houston, where he spent about two weeks in December during training camp. The Rockets liked what they saw in the undrafted point guard but had to waive him because they had Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic on the roster.
The New York Times initially reported the Knicks’ decision, citing an unidentified person briefed on the situation.
One sports consultant said the adjustment to the offer sheet was a stroke of genius by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
“The Rockets deserve a lot of credit for the way they’ve gone about this,” said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based SportsCorp. “It was extremely intelligent — with an assassin’s touch.”
The Knicks, though, gave Lin his first shot, picking him up after the Rockets waived him. He was briefly demoted to the development league, recalled, and finally got his chance when coach Mike D’Antoni put him in with the Knicks floundering at 8-15. Lin scored a career-high 25 points in a 99-92 win over New Jersey, and “Linsanity” was born.
Lin had slept on teammate Landry Fields’ couch the night before, refusing to get his own place as he headed into that week, knowing the Knicks would have to decide whether to cut him or guarantee his contract for the rest of the season.
But Lin proved more than just an overnight sensation — he had 28 and 23 points in his first two NBA starts.