Jeremy Lin Leaving New York Knicks for Houston Possible?

Linsanity took the nation by storm last year and supercharged the New York Knicks to a level that had yet to be seen from the star studded team.

Jeremy Lin's unexpected and furiously fast rise to stardom could end up leaving New York as fast as it arrived. Lin is a restricted free agent this year, but the Houston Rockets could potentially make him an offer that the Knicks would have a hard time matching. 

According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, Jeremy Lin is set to meet with the Rockets today to discuss the potential offer that would bring the overnight sensation and promising young point guard to Houston.

According to Paul Gallant of CBS Houston, the Rockets already made an $8 million a year contract offer to Goran Dragic, who turned down the offer in attempt to make upwards of $10 million a year from another team. It is possible that the Rockets would be willing to offer a similar four-year contract to Lin, which would put a lot of pressure on the New York Knicks who would likely go well above the luxury tax if they were to match. 

Goran Dragic is a very strong point guard that is likely to find a starting role after producing 11.7 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting, as well as registering 5.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. Although Dragic played in more games last season, Lin actually vastly outplayed Houston's PG by putting up 14.6 points per game on 44.6 percent shooting, along with 6.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.

Dragic clearly has an argument for making more in his next contract than Lin, as he averaged less turnovers, shoots better from the 3-point line and has produced over a longer period of time, but it is likely that Lin could make a similarly valued contract. 

Lin has a large amount of things going for him that will help to increase the value of his upcoming contract. According to Keith Bradsher of the New York Times, Lin has become an internationally recognized celebrity after last season, especially in the Asian countries where Yao Ming started a large fan base for the Houston-based team. Lin also has one of the largest fan bases in the NBA and his potential to flourish into an elite point guard is enough for a team to take a financial risk on him.

A source close to the Knicks told ESPN Analyst Chris Broussard that the New York Knicks would be cautious and unlikely to match an offer that would give Lin more than $10 million in the last two years of the contract. The reason for this is that a contract of this size would put the Knicks into trouble with the luxury tax with just Lin, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler. 

The Rockets are likely to offer somewhere near the $8 million a year contract thatthey offered Dragic, and Houston will surely attempt to back load the contract in order to put the Knicks in a situation that they may not match the offer.

If this scenario were to work out, it is likely that the New York Knicks would seriously consider letting Jeremy Lin walk as they could not reason paying only four players on their team more than the luxury tax. 

After the meeting with Houston tomorrow, we are likely to have a better idea of the type of contract that the Rockets will be offering to Jeremy Lin. No one could blame Lin for signing the best offer sheet available, as he has had no financial security in the league to date.

The Knicks could take the hit and match a deal now in the hopes of moving one of the large contracts later to free up cap space, but it is unclear if management is willing to make the moves necessary to keep Lin if he is valued that highly on the market.