1) The Knicks refused to match the Rockets' 3 year $25.1m offer sheet for Jeremy Lin. This means that Linsanity will undoubtedly become the starting PG for the Houston Rockets in '12-'13. Instead of keeping Lin, the Knicks management and the Dolan family decided to go with a combo of Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton. Let me rephrase: Instead of keeping the player that rejuvenated Knicks basketball last season, the Knicks management and the Dolan family decided to go with a combo of a drunkard and a fat hobbit. Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that the Knicks' decision to let Lin go was based on money. James Dolan has pockets deeper than a Robert Frost poem. This decision was based on the Knicks thinking that Jeremy Lin doesn't fit with Carmelo and Amare. I disagree. How can we make a judgment about the type of player he is after only 25 games or so? This was basically his rookie year, as he has barely played in his previous years. Furthermore, Lin suffered from not having a full off-season or enough games with both Amare and Melo to develop any kind of flow or chemistry with them. It is too early to dub Lin as a poor fit with Melo and Amare, because we really don't know what he will be yet. The 3 year offer the Knicks could've matched, would've put them on the hook for only $5m a year for the first two seasons. That is a bargain for a quality starting PG. In two years' time, the Knicks would have been able to figure out what type of player Lin was going to be and exactly how they could win with him or without him. If it turned out that Lin is not a good fit, they could even wave him and distribute the $15m cap hit in his 3rd year over three season (per ESPNs Larry Coon ). $5-$7.5m in luxury tax per year for three years is very feasible for a team like the Knicks.
2) You just let your most marketable player leave the largest media market in the US. We all remember the Linsanity craze and how big of a story that was. While I don't think the Linsanity engine would be as strong as it was in '12, Lin's presence still holds huge value. Think about the marketing opportunities that could have manifested in China and Taiwan. Even in the US, Jeremy Lin's story appeals to a new population of 1st generation Asian-American's. His reach was not limited to just Asian's in this country either. I can tell you that as someone of Indian heritage, I was brought up in a family with similar values and career pressures to Lin's. I don't think it is a stretch to say that his rise to prominence resonates in the South Asian community as well. We can't forget that Lin is on the same level as Tim Tebow in terms of popularity. America loves a true underdog story, especially one of such anomalous roots. I mean, did we ever think an Asian-American would make it big in the NBA? It's absolutely revolutionary, and the New York Knicks are missing out on this golden opportunity.
3) The Brooklyn Nets are primed for a turf war in New York City. The Nets had a huge off-season, re-signing Deron Williams and trading for Joe Johnson. With those two and Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, and Gerald Wallace, the Nets have a legitimate playoff team. That roster is at least equal to what the Knicks have. The Knicks organization really needs to be afraid of losing fans and support in their own city. This is not like the Yankees and Mets at all. The Yankees actually have an illustrious pedigree of championship dominance. The Knicks have been bad or disappointing for far too long. Their fans have been scarred by poor management (read: Isiah Thomas) and poor ownership for many years now. For what is supposed to be Gotham City and the Mecca of basketball, NYC's team hasn't done much to garner any praise. Now the Nets are coming into town with an owner who possesses a George Steinbrenner type approach to running his franchise. Mikhail Prokhorov really doesn't care how much it costs, he just wants to win. With Jay-Z being a major public face for the organization, the Brooklyn Nets could evolve into the new cool team in town. They are fresh, they are hip-hop, and they are exciting. If the Knicks do not put together an impressive season, I could easily see them losing the throne of New York City to the Nets. And in the words of Cersei Lanister, "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."
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