Jeremy Lin: Knicks Reportedly Decline to Match Rockets' Offer Sheet

The Jeremy Lin era appears over. That is what Howard Beck of The New York Times is reporting. According to Beck the Knicks do not intend to match the free agent offer sheet he signed with the Rockets. That will make him a member of the Rockets as of 11:59 p.m. tonight. 

Lin heads to a Houston Rockets team that is actually somewhat reminiscent of the tattered Knicks roster he piloted to a seven-game winning streak in February. The Rockets have purged their roster of most of their best players in an effort to rebuild the franchise. 

James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks could still surprise everyone and decide to match the offer, but at this point the question would be "why?"

The Knicks have already acquired Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton, two point guards with plenty of experience starting in the NBA

The Knicks also signed Argentinian Pablo Prigioni. The 35-year-old will bring even more stability to what was the least stable position on the Knicks' starting five last season.

Houston has taken a massive roll-of-the-dice on the fairly untested Lin. Lin has made 25 starts in his entire NBA career, he had some very impressive ones, and some very unimpressive ones. The seven-game win streak he led the Knicks on in February brought the team back into playoff contention. 

The Knicks didn't need Lin to secure that playoff spot, they won 12 of their final 17 games with Lin watching from the bench, nursing an injured knee.

Lin entered the offseason as a restricted free agent and there seemed like little chance he'd be wearing any uniform other than a Knicks uniform next fall. 

That all changed when the Rockets made Lin a massive four year offer. 

Even with the deal, Lin was told by the Knicks that they would match the offer. Armed with that info, Lin and Houston restructured the deal, trimming it to three years, but upping the final year to a one-time guaranteed payment of $14.8 million. 

With luxury tax considerations, Lin's final season could cost the Knicks upwards of $50 million. Whether it was Lin's decision to go back to Houston and alter the initial offer, or the actual offer itself, once that offer was signed and made public, the Knicks quickly took action to trade for Raymond Felton. 

With Felton on board, along with Kidd and Prigioni, the Knicks have no real need to retain Lin; his bloated contract only adds to the negatives for New York.

If Lin was looking to maximize his profits based on the very small pool of NBA games he's played in then he's done an excellent job. If he wanted to do that and return to the Knicks, he may have bitten off more than he can chew.

Either way, the Jeremy Lin saga certainly has been a unique one for basketball fans. It's not over, but the first chapter is appears to be coming to an end.