Jeremy Lin: Why New York Knicks Will Struggle to Keep Star PG

The widely held assumption going into this offseason has been that the New York Knicks will do whatever it takes to retain restricted free agent Jeremy Lin, and understandably so. There's absolutely no question that both sides make sense from one another—both from a business and basketball standpoint alike.

But, maintaining this match made in heaven may be easier said than done. Teams with ample cap space could force the Knicks to match a back-loaded contract that far exceeds the mid-level exception figure New York would otherwise pay.

Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy explains:

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That means if Brooklyn offers Lin $12,628,613 and $13,146,387 in the final two years of his deal, they’ll have to pay him $9,000,000 per season. However, if New York matches, they’ll owe Lin $5,000,000 next season, $5,225,000 in year two and then $12,628,613 in 2013-14, when they already owe Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler $60,632,000. Matching Lin isn’t the no-brainer decision that some have made it out to be when you consider how much it could cost New York in two years.

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In theory, the Knicks should be willing to pay just about anything—luxury tax included—to keep the their star point guard in the fold. After all, Lin's celebrity alone ensures relevance for this franchise, no matter how far from a title it remains.

Nevertheless, James Dolan may be at least slight influenced by buyer's remorse after making an investment in Amar'e Stoudemire that no one else was willing to make. The notion of spending a combined $70 million on just four players has to raise eyebrows, even amongst New York's big-spending front office.

Of course, moving Stoudemire's contract might make it easier to keep Lin, but that presupposes there's a team willing to take on that contract. Even if there were such a team, it would almost certainly expect the Knicks to take on similarly unappealing long-term deals—leaving New York right back at square one.

The Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers have all been rumored to have interest in Lin.

Each team has cap space, and all but the Warriors has an obvious need at the point. With both the Nets and Mavericks pursuing Deron Williams, Lin may amount to something of a consolation prize (though acquiring him is still anything but a sure thing).

For Lin's part, there will be no shortage of appealing options. In relatively no time at all, the consummate overachiever went from a rookie afterthought at the bottom of Golden State's rotation to becoming one of the most sought-after floor generals on the market.

New York may indeed be willing to pay top dollar just as it so often has, but it won't be nearly as painless we Knicks fans might have hoped.