Knicks Rumors: Rockets' Offer to Jeremy Lin Will Haunt New York
In the span of 48 hours the New York Knicks' point guard situation has gotten pretty bleak. They completed a sign-and-trade for the declining Raymond Felton, which presumably means Jeremy Lin isn't returning, per Stephen A Smith of ESPN.
The recently signed Jason Kidd was arrested for DWI yesterday morning after crashing his SUV. The Kidd situation probably won't impact the team on the court, but it's just icing on the poo poo cake that the Knicks have baked at point guard.
It all began with the "ridiculous" offer the Houston Rockets made to Jeremy Lin. I use quotations to cite how Knicks' star Carmelo Anthony described the three-year $25 million dollar offer sheet Linsanity received, per Rod Boone of Newsday.
"Melo on #Knicks Lin saga: "It's not up to me. It's up to the organization to say that they want to match that ridiculous contract."
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) July 15, 2012"
I must concur with Anthony's sentiments on the proposed deal, but the Rockets' aggressiveness has put the Knicks in a bad predicament.
The third year of the deal that would pay Lin $14.8 million per season is insane, and the Knicks would be wise not to match. But because they missed out on Steve Nash, they don't have a viable option to replace Lin.
Kidd was never going to be a starter anyway. He was there to mentor Lin, and even that has gotten off to a bad start.
Felton averaged a career-low in points for the Portland Trail Blazers last season, and he struggled with his confidence, at one point he was even benched.
Some may believe that bringing Felton back to New York will help to rekindle the spark he played with in the 2010-2011 season.
He averaged 17 points and nine assists for the Knicks that year, but New York didn't have Carmelo Anthony during his time there. We have no idea how Felton will play with Anthony on the floor.
The Knicks desperately need a point guard with presence; one that can run the offense and keep it out of Melo-default mode.
Too many times last season that is how the Knicks' offense ran. Melo was a black hole. He shined, but other players weren't involved. If he got the ball with 12 seconds or less on the shot clock, he was probably going to shoot it.
The only time that wasn't the case was when Lin was on the floor. I'm not completely sold on Linsanity, but he's younger and his ceiling is higher than Felton's.
Even with that, the Knicks shouldn't match the offer. The Rockets truly put the Knicks in a Catch-22.
Unless Felton has a surprising season the Knicks' offense will still be prone to Melo-default mode, and that will keep them from reaching their potential.
Who would have guessed one offer sheet from the Rockets could create so many problems.
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