Jeremy Lin Leaves the Knicks for the Rockets: Don't Believe The Hype

Jeremy Lin, who was a restricted free agent of the New York Knicks, signed a 3 year $25 million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets. The Knicks brass decided not to match this offer sheet and consequently, Lin is now a very rich man and projected starting point guard for the Rockets. This recent series of events is just the latest chapter in one the greatest sports stories I have ever witnessed. I just wish the media and other folks just let it naturally be what it is and stop trying to create more of a story.

Lin burst into the media spotlight earlier in 2012 when due to an abundance of key Knicks injuries, he was given an opportunity to play and he made the most of it. It was truly a sports magical moment. He sparkled on court, giving opponents fits, the Knicks a needed boost and the fans something great to cheer about. And not only did he play great, he was helping the Knicks win games.

What really made Lin's story amazing was his background. He was the ultimate underdog story, making it big against all odds. It wasn't just that he was an unknown bench player who capitalized on his opportunity, Lin is of Asian decent and played college basketball at Harvard. Bottom line is you just don't have many Asian or Ivy League players making it in the NBA. It was refreshing to see and couldn't have been written any better if it was a fictional tale.

The problem is people are trying to rewrite this story. No one enjoyed Lin's rise to fame more than I did, but the truth is Lin is not a superstar player. I predicted in a previous post that Lin would not even be starting for the Knicks at the end of last season and he wasn't - it was really due to injury but his "pixie dust" was fading too. It's amazing how your fortune can change when you've now been scouted and analyzed by other teams.  I think Lin is a good player, a role player that can contribute and he can have a decent NBA career. But that doesn't fit the fairy tale most are setting out for him, which created all the hype around whether the Knicks should have matched the Rockets' offer sheet.

I believe the Knicks not matching the Rockets offer was the right move. New York went in another direction and traded for point guard Raymond Felton, who recently had success in the the Big Apple. Felton is a better player than Lin. Felton is totally an upgrade at that position. And for Lin, he was able to parlay his "moment" into a nice healthy contract - I can't blame him at all for signing it. So it really was a win-win for the Knicks and Lin. The Knicks should not be trashed for allowing Lin to leave; they will always have the most exciting chapter in this story. Unfortunately for those that believe the hype,  the best part of this tale is probably already over.

Deron Williams Traded To Nets; Buyer Beware?

Caveat emptor! The New Jersey Nets have acquired outstanding point guard Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and two first round picks. On the surface, this is not a bad trade for New Jersey. The Nets have received arguably the best point guard in the NBA. Williams is a special player and even though I really like Harris, it makes sense to give him up along with Favors and at least one first round pick (maybe a second, as they did,  to seal the deal). But Williams has only one year left on his contract after this season and if they don't secure him for more years, this trade could blow up on the Nets.

The Nets will be moving into their brand new digs at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn in the 2012 - 2013 season. Nets' owner Mikhail Prokhorov is intent on making his team formidable by the time they become the Lords of Flatbush (Avenue). Obtaining Williams would be a good first step but if he decides for whatever reason to depart after next season, the Nets will be left empty and of course the chips they gave up to get him will have been wasted. Williams could be a good enough piece to convince other great players to come to Brooklyn if he decides to stay. Though the team will still play second fiddle initially to the New York Knicks in New York City, Brooklyn will still be attractive to Williams and other potential free agents. The Nets will enjoy the benefits of being a New York team and will absolutely be embraced by Brooklynites, especially the younger ones. In addition, Prokhorov's boldness along with partner Jay Z's presence will also help the appeal of the team. I recommend that they hire Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as their Assistant PR/GM, because there is probably no one else on earth that can sell Brooklyn like he can. The Nets should give Markowitz Williams' phone number right now. He'll have Williams wrapped up and signed by this summer!

This trade could indeed be the start of something special for the Nets. But they clearly took a big risk; they have to hope Williams stays past next season. If he bolts, it would be a black eye for the organization (especially if he goes to the Knicks, which it has been rumored a preferred destination for him) and may set them back further than they would like.

Carmelo Anthony Goes To the Knicks

Finally! After a nauseating amount of reports over the last few weeks of where Carmelo Anthony may or may not go, the Denver Nuggets have sent him to the New York Knicks. As you probably already heard a "few" times,  it had been speculated that the New Jersey Nets and the Knicks where the top suitors for Anthony. The bottom line is Anthony wanted to become a Knick; he would have been a Net a long time ago if he didn't care about going to New Jersey. Since Anthony was in the last year of his current contract, he held a big bargaining chip in this deal because if he would have been traded to any team like the Nets he could just finish out the season and sign with the Knicks next season. No team in their right mind would have given up true value to the Nuggets unless they could have had Anthony sign a contract extension. With the trade deadline approaching this week, it was in the best interest of the Nuggets to trade Anthony so they would at least get something back in return. Otherwise, they just would have lost him to free agency in the off season.

The one thing that was working against the Nuggets was the apparent want of Anthony to only go to the Knicks. The Knicks of course knew of Anthony's desire to play at the Garden so they were willing to play the cat and mouse game hoping they wouldn't have to give up much or anything to get Anthony. But the Nuggets can thank the Nets for showing a strong interest in obtaining Anthony; the Knicks definitely didn't want to lose Anthony to another team, especially to their neighbors the Nets. So the Knicks themselves wound up parting with more players than I'm sure they would have liked. They reportedly have shipped Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and some draft picks to the Nuggets for Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams, and Renaldo Balkman (who the Knicks originally drafted in 2006). The Minnesota Timberwolves were also part of this deal; they received Eddy Curry and Anthony Randolph from the Knicks in exchange for Cory Brewer. It will be debated whether the Knicks gave up too much. I think that they did, considering they seemed to have leverage against the Nuggets. But getting a player of Anthony's caliber I think ultimately will be worth the price. The Knicks probably won't contend for a title this season but combining Anthony with Amare Stoudemire will make a solid foundation for what could be a championship team with a couple of more added pieces (the Knicks will have to get better on defense over time as well).

Now that the drama of this trade situation is over, I'm sure Anthony, the Knicks, the Nets and the Nuggets are relieved and everyone can get back to playing basketball. But there are still a couple of more days left before the NBA trade deadline. Could there possibly be another blockbuster trade on the horizon?