12:00 am Jul. 18, 20126
It's official. Jeremy Lin is no longer a member of the New York Knicks.
The Knicks dragged things out until virtually the 11:59 p.m. Tuesday night deadline, allowing their fans to suffer just a bit more in hopes that what they were seeing wasn't really happening.
But in the end, the same franchise that allowed Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas to spend them into irrelevance—that once spent $117 million on a team in 2006 that finished 23-59—let the international phenomenon Jeremy Lin, likely the most talented point guard they'll have a chance to acquire for the duration of the time Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler are signed and in need of one—walk away.
He's joining the Houston Rockets, not because the Knicks thought he wasn't worth bringing back, or even that matching a three-year, $25.1 million offer would have crippled the Knicks financially.
Lin upset James Dolan. And once that happened, neither money nor improving the basketball team Dolan owned would be reasons enough to keep Jeremy Lin in New York.
It is the perfect complement to the unendurable length of Isiah Thomas' tenure in New York. In that case, Thomas stayed on long after he'd been disgraced as a general manager and coach, and had even cost the Knicks $11.6 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit. But on Thomas stayed, with Dolan looking to keep him with the Knicks in any way possible.
The main factor seems to be whether James Dolan thinks you're loyal to James Dolan. Competence, the preferences of his customers, how talent evaluators view basketball moves—these things are more relevant to other basketball teams.
I grew up a fan of the New York Knicks. From the age of five to the age of 20, Patrick Ewing was my favorite player. And I figured, once Ewing fell short of winning a championship and was traded away, that no other Knicks player would inspire my rooting passion the way Ewing did. How could anyone?
I had countless memories of watching Ewing's Knicks with my father, with friends, as I discovered basketball, the playoffs, hating the Pacers, the Heat, most of all the Bulls—Michael Jordan's Bulls.
That indifferent decade that followed is a bit of a blur now. One constant was trying to get my father to take an interest in the Knicks, while I could never find the means to separate from the team.
A man who bought his first color television to watch a Knicks playoff game against the Baltimore Bullets wouldn't watch once Ewing left. It wasn't a boycott. He simply had better things to do with his time.
That was true for Howard Eisley. For Stephon Marbury. For Steve Francis, for Jalen Rose, for Nate Robinson and David Lee. I couldn't give up on the Knicks, not when Thomas gave lessons in vernacular, not when Larry Brown gave impromptu pressers from his car.
He didn't even care when Amar'e Stoudemire signed on, or at any point during the minute-by-minute pursuit of Carmelo Anthony, or when the Knicks landed the defensive genius Tyson Chandler.
When the Knicks signed Jeremy Lin in December, I told him about Lin's potential, though I wondered if the Knicks would ever give Lin a chance to play. And when they did, and he responded that Saturday night against the Nets, my first two actions were to reach out to my editor about covering what would certainly be Lin's first start, and to purchase a Lin t-shirt for my two-year-old daughter, not realizing that the action would quickly become the ultimate cliche of 2012. (I had to special-order it; the Knicks Web site did not sell Lin shirts yet.)
Many people think of the night Jeremy Lin scored 38 to beat Kobe Bryant and the Lakers as the moment they became believers in Linsanity. But for me, it was the night I started receiving emails from my father about the game.
The Knicks became a topic for us again. I heard from him when Lin was playing, received urgent questions about Lin's return to health when he injured his knee, discussed exactly when and if the Knicks should play him against the Heat if he was cleared to play by Knicks doctors.
Jeremy Lin became as integral to following the Knicks, in just 25 games, as Patrick Ewing had been for a decade and a half.
Of course, now we know that 25 games is all we'll have.
Nice article. I can relate. I also did not watch NBA until Lin came. My husband is a Lakers fan so he would watch games. I would sit next to him and pretend to enjoy the games. Then I heard him say the Knicks had a shooter. That was during the Lakers vs. Knicks game. I stopped daydreaming and watched the game, and saw Jeremy Lin play for the first time. That was the start of me watching all previous games via u-tube, and watching game after game after that. I enjoyed basketball, learned about all the players, and got educated about basketball moves because of Jeremy Lin...how he graced the court, how much charisma he had, and how thankful he was that he was given the opportunity to play. I saw a humble talented guy who made people very happy, who made basketball fun to watch, who is the same guy that Knicks let go. I learned to like all the other Knicks players, but now without Lin, I know for sure, I will never enjoy watching their games, nor care whether they win or lose.
Hear, hear . . . I never got interested in NBA again after Michael Jordan retires. Yes, there was Kobe - OK i watch some, then there was Lebron - wow lot of drama, still NBA is like something to check if there are no other things to do. Then I was on a business trip and one of my colleages says - hey, heard of Linsanity? You say what? Linsanity!... uh-huh. Then he pulls out some laptop and do some search.. Ok, interesting, I check it out when I am back in the hotel. Whoa! what happens next was I get hooked in Linsanity. Watching You-Tube was not enought, I bought NBA Leauge Pass to follow him. I started to know more about the Knicks, I know guys I dont hear about like Jeffries, Novak, Fields, JR Smith, Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Jerome Jordan, etc.. etc.. I even ordered online and waited for my Lin Jersey #17. For me, anyone who does not know Knicks and Lin are out of touch people - hehehe.. that's how crazy I am (even my non-basketball colleauges at least heard of JLin). Anyways, call me bandwagon fan (yeah I know, I started to spend hours on discussion boards during Linsanity - heck till now, though I toned down a bit), but I am jumping to the Rockets. Yeah, yeah.. good riddance to me "real" knick fans. The point is: JLin makes the Knicks the team to watch, root for and be attached to. With all the post-season drama and letting Lin go, I dont care if knicks win or loose. I am rooting now that rookies like Lamb, DoMo, Jones, White, 2nd yr player Patterson or oldest K-Mart (@ 29), heck even Asik can mesh well with Lin and give us an exciting ball game. Heck, Rockets win or loose, I still gonna maintain my NBA leauge pass to continue watching JLin.
the story brought me tears. especially now.
I remember the first time I watched JLin play - I was at the Columbia-Harvard game. My husband and I looked at his eachother and commented that that "Asian" kid was pretty good. Called my sister at Harvard and asked her if she'd heard of JLin. She, a non-basketball fan, replied that she had. A couple of years pass by. I'm sitting at a restaurant with my family and catch a glimpse of an Asian player on the court for the Knicks playing against the Nets. Lo and behold- it was JLin! Didn't even know he had joined the Knicks ( Though a NY'er, I had not followed the Knicks in years). Unbeknownst to me, that was the birth of Linsanity. I recall that the Giants had made it to the Superbowl. But NYC was taken over by the inspiring and uplifing, and amazing story of JLin and the life he and his excellent character breathed into the once irrelevant Knicks. Linsanity was an awesome period in NY - there was a sense of hope, giddiness and fun that bonded all of us who could not believe that we were lucky enough to be living in NYC when all this was playing out right before our eyes. I wish I had known that it was going to end so soon. I cannot wait to see how this season plays out for the Rockets, JLin and Harden. One thing I have learned from following JLin's story - whatever happens, JLin's center is grounded on things that are not seen (things like faith, diligence, gratefulness, thankfulness, passion) and I know that he will be OK. I just wish he were still in NY so we could all be a little bit closer to the life and fun he and his games bring to the city. With much nostalgia, from NYC.
I remember the first time I watched JLin play - I was at the Columbia-Harvard game. My husband and I looked at his eachother and commented that that "Asian" kid was pretty good. Called my sister at Harvard and asked her if she'd heard of JLin. She, a non-basketball fan, replied that she had. A couple of years pass by. I'm sitting at a restaurant with my family and catch a glimpse of an Asian player on the court for the Knicks playing against the Nets. Lo and behold- it was JLin! Didn't even know he had joined the Knicks ( Though a NY'er, I had not followed the Knicks in years). Unbeknownst to me, that was the birth of Linsanity. I recall that the Giants had made it to the Superbowl. But NYC was taken over by the inspiring and uplifing, and amazing story of JLin and the life he and his excellent character breathed into the once irrelevant Knicks. Linsanity was an awesome period in NY - there was a sense of hope, giddiness and fun that bonded all of us who could not believe that we were lucky enough to be living in NYC when all this was playing out right before our eyes. I wish I had known that it was going to end so soon. I cannot wait to see how this season plays out for the Rockets, JLin and Harden. One thing I have learned from following JLin's story - whatever happens, JLin's center is grounded on things that are not seen (things like faith, diligence, gratefulness, thankfulness, passion) and I know that he will be OK. I just wish he were still in NY so we could all be a little bit closer to the life and fun he and his games bring to the city. With much nostalgia, from NYC.
reply
Like so many people, I got hooked on Linsanity when I got to see it with the Lakers game and follow Lin and Knicks since. I was reading every article I could and watch every Youtube I could. My wife even say that I am too addicted to reading about him. But that is what was inspirational about Jeremy. It is fun rooting for an underdog. Best of luck, Jeremy. I am glad that you are away from the jealous backstabbers. Stay true to God.