Jeremy Lin: Linsanity Smart Not to Get Caught in Loyalty Trap with Knicks
Jeremy Lin knows what he's doing.
This is business, there is no place for loyalty. The moment a player gets caught up in being loyal is the moment he gets taken advantage of and run over. Lin knows an athlete's career is a very short period of time.
That is especially the case for one that is relatively unproven, and it's important to get as much money as you can during that time.
Teams will use a player's loyalty as a means to under-committ and underpay for the services and revenue said player brings into an organization. James Dolan is insane to even imply that Lin deceived him, or that he owed him anything.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News writes:
"The decision was both financial and emotional since Garden chairman James Dolan was upset over Lin restructuring his deal with Houston last week to include a third year salary of $14.9 million. Dolan, according to sources, felt he was deceived by the 23-year-old Lin.
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OK, so let me get this straight. Because you gave Lin a shot last season, paid him pennies proportionately compared to the NBA-standard, he shouldn't have negotiated the most lucrative deal possible.
Is Dolan implying that he thought Lin was going to make it easy on the New York Knicks to retain his services? Was he supposed to turn down more money from the Rockets in the third year as a show of gratitude for getting his shot to shine in the Big Apple?
That is the most arrogant and impractical notion I've ever heard. Ask Chauncey Billups how loyal the Knicks are.
He didn't want to be amnestied last season. He did everything he could to prevent it, and said he wanted to stay in New York.
The business aspect took over, and they sent Mr. Big Shot packing to make room for Tyson Chandler's contract. In the end Billups' agent, Andy Miller, said this of Billups' feelings to Ian O'Connor of ESPN:
"Chauncey's pissed off, but he's not pissed at the Knicks. He understands it's a business and they have to do what they have to do."
Why doesn't Dolan understand the flip-side of this?
The Knicks prospered mightily last season during the Linsanity period, and Lin himself was paid a very small percentage of that. He's a human being, he did feel some gratitude towards the Knicks, but I'm glad he was smart enough to separate business from his heart.
It was also smart for Lin to say: I preferred New York. It further puts the situation on the Knicks in the eyes of most fans. Call the Houston Rockets the Godfather, because they made Lin an offer he couldn't refuse.
I'm not one of those people that believes Lin is this great superstar point guard. He's a nice player, but not a superstar on the court.
I believe the Rockets drastically overpaid for him in that third year. But he may make an attractive expiring contract to deal when that time rolls around.
However, I don't blame Lin for signing the deal. He knows which side his bread is buttered on, and that's the side that is willing to pay the most money.
It's that simple.
The Knicks know it's that simple, and Dolan should be ashamed of himself for expecting anything different, especially when it's all about dollars and cents to him as well.
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