Lin is Rockets marquee player
Knicks failed to match the Rockets offer sheet of $25 million over three years making Jeremy Lin the new point guard and marquee player in Houston.
Lin’s success came without stars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. If he’s going to have success in Houston, it’s going to be with a roster full of mostly young, unproven talent. The Rockets have young talent Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Jones, Marcus Morris, Chandler Parsons with proven decent players Kevin Martin and Patrick Patterson.
I thought Lin would have been perfect for the Knicks with his ability to distribute and get everybody involved. The problem is that Lin only started in 25 games last season after getting worn down quick by his string of dominance. He went out with a torn meniscus in his knee and never came back during the playoffs. His style was going to the rim right at the bigs, taking the contact and trying to finish and it takes a toll on a small player like Lin’s body.
If Lin can stay healthy then he has a chance to be a star in Houston. The talent he showed for the Knicks was real and I don’t buy into any claims that Mike D’Antoni’s system is responsible for his success. There’s no doubt in my mind that he can be a high caliber point guard for many years to come, not at the level of a superstar, but a good productive everyday starter. He’s in a different position than he would have been in New York playing third fidle to the other stars.
The Rockets aren’t going to win many games next year and it’s going to be interesting to see what the perception of Lin becomes after his team struggles. There’s just too many young pieces that need much more experience on the court to have any success at the NBA level. I think despite a surprising season last year that the Rockets will end up in the lottery next summer to try to get Lin some help. On the bright side, they have plenty of trading chips to where they might be able to lure in a good player.
Even though I’m not happy that Knicks didn’t match Lin’s offer, I hope he has a long and successful career. He didn’t earn every dollar, but he seized his opportunity off the end of the bench and made something out of nothing. The only question is his ability to stay healthy over an 82-game season and if he can’t, then the Knicks did the right thing. If he does prove to stay healthy then the Knicks will regret the safe choice to let him go.
Tags: Jeremy Lin, Rockets