Why James Dolan Actually Made a Responsible Decision Letting Jeremy Lin Go

The New York Knicks' decision to not match the Houston Rockets' three-year, $25 million contract on beloved point guard Jeremy Lin was met with widespread heartbreak among Knicks fans and reporters alike.

And being that this is 2012, plenty of notables took to Twitter to express their displeasure. Actor Edward Burns touched on the lifelong disappointment of being a Knicks fan while New York Daily News reporter Frank Isola threw a pointed jab at owner James Dolan.

The coup de grace of Knick fan disappointment, however, was a parody of the Gotye song "Somebody That I Used to Know" done by the folks over at NOC.

From an objective perspective, all of this disappointment is understandable on the personal level. But it's a little ridiculous from the basketball perspective because, despite his reasoning, Dolan actually made the correct decision for his franchise.

Here's why:

1.  Lin Is Not Worth Much from a Marketing Standpoint

One of the overarching theories of the Lin defenders is that even if his level of play never reaches the apex of Linsanity again, the Knicks would still be able to recoup his sunk cost in overseas marketing money.

According to financial analyst David Joyce, Lin's supposed cash-cow status is a fallacy.  

Via the Wall Street Journal:

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More number crunching from Joyce suggests Lin alone may contribute 10% to the Knicks bottom line. That would amount to only 1% of MSG’s total revenue, or about $12 million. Lin was also a boon to merchandising, food and beverage sales, but those segments represent a tiny portion of MSG’s overall revenue, he adds.

Considering Houston has offered Lin a three-year, $25 million contract, which is heavily backloaded with a final-year tally of $14.8 million, Lin’s financial upside for MSG is debatable. These estimates don’t even take into account the back-breaking tax implications that could be triggered in the third year of Lin’s deal if the Knicks were to go over the salary cap.

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In addition, all of Joyce's numbers are based on Lin's immense popularity after his sudden burst onto the scene. Unless he's a superstar, Lin won't have the same hip cultural value that he did this past season.  

2.  Lin Won't Have the Same On-Court Impact Next Season

While Lin was sensational in his 11-game national ascent, his final 15 games of the 2011-12 regular season were far more pedestrian and light years less proficient. Lin's 14.5 points per game over the final 15 games came on 39.3 percent shooting and his 6.5 assists also came with a 3.9 turnover rate.

To put it into perspective, replacement Raymond Felton played terribly in Portland last season but still scored 11.7 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting and assisted 6.5 times per game with a 2.8 turnover rate. 

If you want to argue Lin's age and inexperience hampered his numbers, that's fine but there is no guarantee that he's even a better player than Felton.  

3.  Melo Is Right, It's a Ridiculous Contract

In a vacuum, taking a chance and rolling the dice with Lin would make sense...but not when the vacuum has a $14.8 million payout in the third year of his contract.

If the Knicks can get relatively similar value from Felton for $10 million guaranteed over three years, is there any sense in shelling out the extra money just because people like the guy?

The Knicks' resources are better spent trying to build depth and talent around the core players.

We all may love Linsanity, but its time has passed.