Knicks Rumors: New York Would Be Wise To Re-Sign Jeremy Lin at Season's End

The New York Knicks are suddenly hot again and so is point guard Jeremy Lin, who has seen his minutes increase steadily throughout the Knicks' current three-game winning streak, as well as his scoring and rebounding numbers.

The latest bounce back from the former Harvard floor general is more than enough to suggest that the Knicks should sign him to a multi-year deal this offseason. The 23-year-old is averaging 14.7 points and 6.3 assists per game with an impressive 20.6 PER, which is the highest on New York's roster.

However, shortly after former Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni's stunning resignation on Wednesday, experts and sources close to the Big Apple began speculating that "Linsanity" would soon follow D'Antoni out the door.

Howard Beck of the New York Times wrote last Thursday that "it's the end of Linsanity as we know it," and that "the sudden and surprising change in head coaches almost ensures it."

Sure, at the time it seemed like the sky was falling on the Knicks, who had lost six straight and nine out of 12 before D'Antoni called it quits on March 14, but since interim head coach Mike Woodson took over, the Knicks are surging and playing beautiful basketball again.

Every NBA team needs a point guard and the Knicks are lucky to have Lin. No one can deny that Carmelo Anthony (20.7 PPG) and Amar'e Stoudemire (17.4 PPG) are the stars in New York, but the catalyst for the Knicks offense is and will be Jeremy Lin.

Baron Davis is a true point guard, but his scoring style would only take away from the aforementioned superstars. Meanwhile, Lin is a humble prospect who recognizes his role with the Knicks and can easily decrease his shot attempts per game to make way for the more dependable scorers like Anthony and Stoudemire.

Davis is also past his prime and constantly dealing with nagging injuries (back, hamstring, etc.). It makes no sense for the Knicks to put all of their eggs into Davis' basket going forward.

D'Antoni's unique offensive scheme helped Lin come along much faster than he would have anywhere else and is responsible for Lin becoming Linsanity over night, but it is not the independent variable to Lin's success with the Knicks. 

It was not the injection of Carmelo Anthony that sparked the Knicks' improbable February run, nor was it Amar'e Stoudemire. 

Lin has been critical during the Knicks' current win streak and will be just as important as New York takes aim at a playoff berth this spring.

Regardless of when the season ends for the Knicks in 2012, they would be wise to re-sign the game-changing point guard that made them relevant again and put them back on the NBA map.