Jeremy Lin Bids Farewell to Wrong Rockets Teammate After James Harden Trade

Jeremy Lin has always kept is classy in his off-court dealings, but even the nicest guys make mistakes, as the Rockets' guard did by saying fare-thee-well to the wrong teammate. 

Houston's new poster child really just wanted to do the right thing when he called rookie Scott Machado after hearing about a trade that sent players out of Houston. 

Only, Machado isn't leaving anytime soon. 

The Houston Chronicle's blog Ultimate Rockets reports Lin phoned the wrong player in offering his well wishes. The best part of the report is that Machado had been nervously waiting on word as to whether he even made the team. 

In comes a call from Jeremy Lin, a bona fide celebrity after bursting onto the scene last season with the Knicks. You could see how a call from Lin would already be noteworthy for a player like Machado, an undrafted point guard from Iona. 

As the call went on, Machado realized Lin had the wrong dude. 

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“I was like, ‘Hey, it’s Scott, it’s not Jeremy,’ ” Machado said of his conversation with Lin. “’Did you hear something about me?’ I was all nervous. He was like, “Oh, I apologize, I apologize.’ It all worked out.”

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I am psyched that the zany antics of the NBA are finally back, and this goes at the top as an early frontrunner for the funniest story of the season. 

Over the weekend, Houston traded Kevin Martin and first-round draft pick Jeremy Lamb to Oklahoma City. Again, Machado had nothing to do with the deal. In fact, he recently edged out veteran guard Shaun Livingston to make the team's regular season roster. 

The deal netted the Rockets quite the backcourt in Lin and now James Harden. It also caused a nice kid who is still catching his breath after a busy offseason to send out some misguided goodwill.

Kudos, Jeremy—just double-check your contacts next time.  

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